US Airways crew falls ill on Boston flight

ByABC News
November 6, 2007, 1:31 AM

BOSTON -- Five crewmembers aboard a US Airways flight from Washington to Boston were taken to a hospital Monday after complaining of illness caused by unidentified fumes.

The crewmembers, including both pilots, asked that the flight be met by emergency medical workers, said Valerie Wunder, an airline spokeswoman. "They requested medical assistance. They felt ill. But it did not affect the operation of the flight," she said. No passengers reported feeling ill, Wunder said.

The incident began shortly after 7:30 a.m. when Flight 2022 left Washington's Reagan National Airport. The pilots of the Airbus A319 returned to Washington a few minutes later because the crew and passengers noticed fumes, Wunder said.

The passengers and crew on the hourly shuttle flight to Boston switched to another jet and left Washington at 9:20 a.m., she said. That flight was uneventful, but the crew apparently suffered lingering effects from the aborted flight. They were treated with oxygen after complaining of headaches and nausea, said Lt. Christopher Stratton of Boston Emergency Medical Services. Two showed evidence of exposure to carbon monoxide, but the injuries were not life-threatening, he said.

The problem appears to have begun in a rear generator that drives the jet's air conditioning, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown said.