Airbus Safety Dangerous Goods Awareness

Flight Operations Briefing Notes

Cabin Operations Dangerous Goods Awareness

Flight Operations Briefing Notes Cabin Operations Dangerous Goods Awareness

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Introduction
Many everyday items and substances can be dangerous when transported by air. Due to the variations in temperature and pressure during a flight, some of these items may leak or break, generating toxic fumes or possiblystarting a fire. Employee’s who may come into contact with dangerous goods need to be aware of the nature of such goods, their potential for causing incidents and accidents and how they should be dealt with. The aim of this Flight Operations Briefing Note is to provide cabin crew with information and guidance for dangerous goods carried in the passenger cabin.

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Background InformationII.1 Definition
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) defines dangerous goods as; “Articles or substances which are capable of posing a risk to health, safety, property or the environment and which are shown in the list of dangerous goods in the Technical Instructions or which are classified according to those Instructions.” (ICAO Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport ofDangerous Goods by Air)

II.2 Dangerous Goods Regulatory Requirements and Recommendations
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) “Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air”, provides Operators with the basic legal requirements for transporting dangerous goods by air.

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Flight Operations Briefing Notes

Cabin Operations Dangerous GoodsAwareness

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Air Travel Association (IATA) provide guidance material for Operators who wish to develop their dangerous goods training programs. The ICAO and IATA guidance material is updated annually and provides Operators with an excellent source of information on dangerous goods. Many aviation authorities require thatOperators provide dangerous goods training for cabin crew during initial and recurrent training. Operators should include dangerous goods as part of the cabin crew training program to increase cabin crew awareness to: • • The risks involved in carrying dangerous goods by air How to deal with a dangerous goods incident onboard the aircraft.

II.3 Reported Dangerous Goods Incidents
Prohibiteddangerous goods may inadvertently be carried onboard an aircraft by passengers who are not aware of, or who deliberately ignore, the regulations. Items that passengers are entitled to carry onboard an aircraft may also cause an incident. Here are some examples of cases where baggage contained dangerous goods onboard the aircraft: • “Upon arrival, customs officers found a passenger's baggage contained 48long fireworks (roman candle type), 32 packets of friction ignition (match style) fireworks and 2 cigarette lighters, all packed in the same bag. The passenger had started his journey with another operator and had made two transit stops prior to connecting with the flight in question.” (Source: Civil Aviation Authority, United Kingdom Safety Regulation Group, Dangerous Goods Monthly Report, April2007). The picture below shows damage to passenger baggage due to damaged bottles of 35-percent hydrogen peroxide solution in water, an oxidizer with corrosive properties that leaked in a cargo compartment. The bottles were in an ice chest that was checked in by a passenger on the flight. The suitcase was found smoldering in the cargo compartment by the baggage handlers.

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Photo Credit:National Transportation Safety Board, (NTSB) DCA-99-MZ-001

Damage to Passenger Baggage

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Flight Operations Briefing Notes

Cabin Operations Dangerous Goods Awareness

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Dangerous Goods Classification
The main document of reference used by operators is the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) guide. The IATA DGR provides...