Cabin Air Quality Troubleshooting Advice

ATA: 21-21 FIN: Ref: 21.21.00011

A/C Type: A300 A/C Serie: Topic: First Issue 12-NOV-2013
A300-600 Date:
A310
A318
A319
A320
A321
A330
A340
A340-500
A340-600
A350
A380
Part Number: Last Publication 19-JUN-2018
Date:
Supplier:
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Articles: Documentation:

Old Wise Ref:

EngOps-16325

Engineering Support
First Issue Date: 12-NOV-2013
Model: Last Publication Date: 19-JUN-2018
Manufacturer:

Applicability

All

References

 This article replaces SIL 21-132

 ISI 25.50.00011: Dry Ice Transportation
 ISI 21.00.00018: Environmental Control System Decontamination Procedure
 ISI 21.00.00019: Aircraft Cabin Air Quality
 FAST 19: Cabin Air Quality Article
 FCOM 02.02.13: Inclement Weather Operation (A300-600/A310)
 FCOM PRO-SUP-91-30: Adverse Weather (A320 and A330/A340 family)
 FCOM PROC/SUP PROC/COLD WEATHER PROC: Cold Weather Procedures (A380)
Description

Continuing interest in the subject of cabin air quality has prompted this ISI article which aims to
consolidate the information and advice already contained in other sources.

This ISI Article highlights best practice available for troubleshooting with an overview of fleet
experience and also provides recommendations after a cabin air quality event.

BACKGROUND:

All Airbus aircraft are tested to confirm that airflow rate and contamination levels are good compared
to the relevant airworthiness regulations, and in respect of contaminants against internationally
accepted safety guidelines, see the following documents:
 ISI 21.00.00019: Aircraft Cabin Air Quality
 FAST 19: Cabin Air Quality Article

This ISI article provides helpful data based on operator experience and troubleshooting best practice.

Solution

Possible Sources Affecting Cabin Air Quality

There are many potential causes of cabin odours or smoke and it can sometimes prove difficult to
isolate the cause of an odour quickly. The following generic list (not ranked) covers the possible
causes of odours that should be considered:

 Engine or APU Ingestion of :

o De-icing fluid into inlet (See precautions in FCOM 2.02.13 (A300-600/A310) or PRO-
SUP-91-30 (A320 and A330/A340 family) or PROC/SUPP
PROC/COLDWEATHERPROC (A380)
o Exhaust fumes from other aircraft, GPU etc
o Pollution (eg. smoke from fires)
o Hydraulic fluid leaks
o Birds
o Compressor wash procedure residues
o Pollens
 Galley Equipment, ovens, coffee makers etc (Ref MPD tasks for galley and toilet air extraction
systems)
 Damaged electrical wiring or components
 Inappropriate or excessive use of CO2 (dry ice) by caterers or excessive quantities being
transported (see ISI 25.50.00011)
 Toilet fluid spillage, leakage and also unapproved mixing of different disinfectant fluids within
the toilet.
 Leakage of the rain repellent system or rain repellent contamination within the cabin or
flightdeck.
 Spillage’s within cargo compartments
 Items stowed in overhead overhead bins
 APU oil leaks into the bleed system
 Engine oil leaks into the bleed system
 Contamination of the ECS

First Steps in Troubleshooting a Cabin Odour Report

Usually the source of a cabin odour report is easily determined by considering each of the potential
causes above, but sometimes the cause is not obvious. In these cases the questionnaire in
Attachment 2 can be used as a way of gathering the data necessary to progress troubleshooting
which includes ; Description of Odour, Location of Odour, Flight phase when Odour was reported,
Bleed system selections etc.

In order to share fleet experience and optimise troubleshooting, the following tables rank the causes of
cabin odour for the fleet based on;
 Table 1 – Reported Odour Causes Ranked by Highest Number of Reports
 Table 2 – Reported Odour Descriptions Correlated to Most Reported Odour Cause
 Table 3 – Reported Location of Odours Correlated by Most Likely Odour Cause
 Table 4 – Flight Phase When Odour Reported Correlated by Most Reported Odour Cause
These tables are based on available operator feedback and so represent a historical view. Therefore,
some of the failure modes causing odour reports listed in the following tables have been rectified by
modification action and may not be relevant to all or any existing aircraft standards.

NOTE: For A320 Family operators, attention is drawn to the TSM task 05-50-00-810-831-A which
contains a decision table to identify odour sources, based on operator experience.

RCSM NOTE: Please use the questionnaire at attachment 2 to record data when appropriate,
however even when the questionnaire is not used it is still useful to forward all cabin air quality reports
and occurrences to SEEE4.
Table 1 - Reported Odour Causes Ranked by Highest Number of Reports Per Aircraft Type

A300 A300-600 A310

Primary Cause Primary Cause Primary
Cause Breakdown
Cause Breakdown Cause Breakdown Cause
Electrical N2 Indicator Electrical TRU Electrical TRU
Most Reported  Equipment Lav Flush Motor Equipment IFE Equipment CB Panel
ADI CRT ND
BCL CB Panel
Galley Oven APU Oil Leak Galley Wiring
Equipment Coffee Maker Equipment
Water Heater
Engine Oil Leak Galley Oven Engine Hyd fluid ingestion
Equipment
Engine Oil Leak

A319 A320 A321

Primary Primary Cause Primary
Cause Breakdown Cause Breakdown
Cause Cause Breakdown Cause
APU Oil Leak APU Oil Leak APÜ Oil Leak
Most Reported 

Electrical FCU Electrical Ballast Unit Electrical Heated Floor Panel

Equipment VHF1 Equipment TRU Equipment RMP
MCDU Reading Light MCDU
Ballast Units Extract Fan ELAC
Extract Fan Avionics Blower Light Bulb
MCDU
GPCU
Engine Oil Leak Engine Oil Leak
Galley Coffee Maker Galley Coffee Maker
Equipment Hot Plate Equipment Oven

A330 A340
Primary Cause Primary
Cause Breakdown
Cause Breakdown Cause
IFE Lighting Controller
Most Reported 

Electrical Light Electrical ACP

Equipment FCU Equipment Ballast Unit
DMC2 ECAM
Coffee Maker
Galley Galley Oven
Oven
Equipment Equipment Coffee Maker
Clogged Filters
Prior Engine Wash
APU Oil Leak Engine
Oil Leak
Table 2 – Reported Odour Descriptions Correlated to Most Reported Odour Cause

Description Primary Cause (Most Reported Listed First)

Electrical Equip / IFE
Acrid
Engine Oil Leak
Electrical Equipment
Burning Galley Equipment
Ingestion of Bird
Contaminated bleed ducts
Chemical APU Ingestion
Leakage of rain repellent fluid
Smoke Hood
Chlorine
Blocked Door area drain
Electrical Electrical Equipment
APU or Engine Oil Leaks,
Dirty Socks
possibly contaminated ECS
Foul Toilet
APU FCU/Fuel line
Fuel
APU ingestion of engine exhaust
Oil Engine or APU Oil Leak
Skydrol Engine Hydraulic
Wiring
Sulphur Avionics filter water contamination
Light Bulb

Table 3 – Reported Location of Odours Correlated by Most Reported Odour Cause

Location Primary Cause (Most Reported Listed First)

Description A300/A310/A300-600 A319/A320/A321 A330/A340
Electrical Equipment APU Oil Leak Electrical Equipment
Engine Oil Leak APU Oil Leak
Cabin
Electrical Equip Engine Oil Leak
Galley Equipment
Electrical Equipment Electrical Equipment Electrical Equipment
APU Oil Leak Engine Oil Leak APU Oil Leak
Cockpit Engine Oil Leak APU Oil Leak Leakage of rain repellent
Leakage of rain repellent fluid
fluid
Engine, Engine APU Ingestion
Cabin & Cockpit Hydraulic Fluid Ingest APU
ECS
Fwd Galley Galley Equipment Galley Equipment Galley Equipment
Aft Galley Galley Equipment Galley Equipment Galley Equipment
Table 4 – Flight Phase When Odour Reported Correlated by Most Reported Odour Cause

Primary Cause (Most Reported Listed First)

Flight Phase
A300/A310/A300-600 A319/A320/A321 A330/A340
Electrical Equipment APU Electrical Equipment
Ground
Electrical Equipment
Engine Oil Leak Engine Oil Leak Engine (prior eng wash)
Ingestion Leakage of rain repellent fluid
Takeoff
APU Oil Leak
Leakage of rain repellent fluid
Electrical Equipment Electrical Equipment Green hydraulic overfill
De-icing Fluid Ingestion APU Leakage of rain repellent fluid
Engine
Climb
ECS
Galley Equipment
Leakage of rain repellent fluid
Electrical Equipment Electrical Equipment Electrical Equipment
Galley Equipment Galley Equipment
Cruise
Engine
APU
APU Oil Leak APU Electrical Equipment
Descent Engine ECS
Electrical Equipment
APU Oil Leak APU
Approach
Galley Equipment

Identifying the Source of Oil Contamination of the ECS

This section addresses oil contamination of the ECS. The possible sources of oil contamination of the
air conditioning system is an oil leak from either the APU or an engine.

The majority of reports associated with oil contamination coincide with or closely follow one of the
following crew actions:
 Initiation of the APU bleed air supply
 Large change in power lever angle (PLA), i.e. top of descent, with engine bleed air already
selected ON.

In these cases the air conditioning packs are subjected to changing bleed air inlet flow, pressure
and/or temperature conditions. It should also be noted that the temperature of the APU bleed air
supply can be higher than the engine air supplies. The generally higher APU air temperatures make it
more likely that any existing contamination that is present within the air conditioning system will
produce odours. Therefore, a report following initiation of the APU bleed air supply does not
necessarily mean that the APU is the cause of the air conditioning contamination from which the smell
can originate. Similarly, a smell report following a large change in engine power lever angle when APU
AIR is OFF, does not necessarily mean that one or more of the engines is the cause.

In all instances of reported smells both the APU and engine bleed air supplies should be checked for
evidence of contamination. Remember that the APU can contaminate both ECS packs, whereas for
aircraft with 2 main engines; Engine 1 can only contaminate ECS Pack 1, and Engine 2 can only
contaminate ECS Pack 2. For aircraft with 4 main engines Engines 1&2 can only contaminate ECS
Pack 1, and Engines 3&4 can only contaminate ECS Pack 2. The process of determining the
contamination source can be managed by use of a questionnaire as previously mentioned. Refer to
ISI 21.00.00018 for details of the ECS decontamination task which details where to look for oil
contamination in the bleed system and ECS packs.

Post Event Maintenance

Diagnosing Continuing Problems

If the odour cause has not been confirmed and fixed, the use of the questionnaire shown in
Attachment 1 will facilitate continued reporting if the operator chooses to return the aircraft to service.
Attention is drawn to the importance of isolating the source by determining which pack and bleed
configuration is involved

One possibility where the source of an oil leak/odour cannot be determined would be to operate the
aircraft with each bleed supply OFF (in accordance with the MMEL requirements) in turn to identify a
bleed configuration that confirms the odour. If this does not identify a bleed source of the odour, then
operate using a single ECS pack to try and identify an ECS pack as a source of the odour. Note that a
build-up of oil contamination within an ECS pack can occur over time and eventually cause the ECS
pack itself to be the source of an odour. The reporting sheet at attachment 2 can be used to track the
different ECS configurations and aid this process.

Aircraft Rectification

Following oil contamination of the aircraft bleed system and ECS, the system should be cleaned
following removal of the contamination source, Ref. ISI 21.00.00018 and then maintained in a clean
condition.

It may be prudent to replace the cabin air recirculation filters following significant in-service events
where the filters have either become significantly contaminated, or remain odorous after the event.

Crew Medical Tests

Although it is very rare, an event involving physical symptoms being experienced by the crew requires
a fast response in order to capture any available evidence that will confirm or discount any particular
contamination source/scenario. Airbus has on occasion been asked to recommend what medical
checks of affected crew are appropriate in such circumstances. Airbus does not make any
recommendation about when or how crews should have medical checks, but advises that operators
should seek medical advice about which medical checks would yield useful information after an event.

Note: In order to reduce the possibility of external variables influencing the results of such
examinations, crew movement details between the flight and the medical examination should be
recorded.

Record accurate and precise details of clinical symptoms: what symptoms were experienced ? When
during the flight did each symptom become apparent ? How long did each symptom last ? Was the
symptom relieved by the use of oxygen ? How were the onset of symptoms related to detected
smell/odour ? Were the symptoms related to any ECS system switch selections ?

Contacts

Operators requiring more information or further advice should contact SEEE4, through Techrequest
(ATA 21).
ATTACHMENTS

Attachment 1 – ECS Configurations

Part 1 – Isolating ENGINE/APU/PACK as the contaminant source

Date Notes Pack 1 Pack 2 Engine Air APU Air Odour
OFF ON ALL OFF ON YES/NO
ON OFF ALL OFF ON YES/NO
OFF ON ALL ON OFF YES/NO
ON OFF ALL ON OFF YES/NO
Take-off
ON ON ALL OFF ON YES/NO
config
Landing
ON ON ALL OFF ON YES/NO
config
Landing
ON ON ALL ON OFF YES/NO
config
Part 2 – Isolating Engine(s) as contamination Source
Engine* Engine*
Date Notes Engine Air #1 Engine Air #2 Odour
Air #3 Air #4
APU Air OFF OFF ON ON ON YES/NO
APU Air OFF ON OFF ON ON YES/NO
APU Air OFF ON ON OFF ON YES/NO
APU Air OFF ON ON ON OFF YES/NO

* A330/A340/A380 only
Attachment 2 – Cabin Air Contamination reporting sheet

Note: This reporting sheet is for all Airbus aircraft.

Please note that for SA, there is also a reporting sheet available in TSM ref. 05-50-00-810-831-A
(Identification of the Cause of Cabin Odors or Smoke).
Additional Note

This article replaces SIL 21-132 and EngOps16326

Please also note that:

 SIL 21-029 is replaced by EngOps16316
 EngOps16316 is replaced by 21.00.00018
 SIL 21-050 is replaced by EngOps16317
 EngOps16317 is replaced by 21.00.00019
 SIL 00-081 is replaced by EngOps16326
 EngOps16325 is replaced by 21.21.00011

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