Containers of freshly caught halibut and salmon often utilize dry ice to keep the contents cool for the trip. Dry ice sublimates to gaseous carbon dioxide at typical temperatures and pressures in an aircraft cabin.
Many of business aviation’s customers utilize our fleets of aircraft for transportation to and from their outdoor recreation. Outdoor recreation activities may include equipment that can be a hazard to the aircraft and/or its occupants.
Some of these threats are obvious and some are not. An example of the latter is the new evolution in special avalanche-protection equipment for adventurous skiers. In recent years, skiers who venture into avalanche-prone terrain have begun wearing self-inflating backpacks that will form a protective cocoon around the skier if caught in an avalanche. Inflation is provided by a cartridge of compressed noninflammable gas.
Some of you may have flown campers and hunters who packed portable propane cylinders for their camping stoves. Or you may have carried scuba tanks for divers. If an improperly secured canister fell over in turbulence, the pressure could propel the canister around the cabin uncontrollably with the destructive force of a missile. Compressed gases also have the potential to form a violent flammable mixture.
Something as innocent as a package of matches can create quite a problem in flight if vibrations cause the matches to ignite, or if steel wool comes into contact with the ends of a battery. Flammable solids such as these and cans of heating fluid require special handling.
Firearms ammunition is also a “hazmat.” Small arms ammunition for personal use must be packed in fiber, wood or metal boxes, or packaging specifically designed to carry small amounts of ammunition.
Some of you have probably carried fishermen back from Alaska with their coolers of fresh-caught halibut and salmon. Often these containers have dry ice to keep the delicious contents cool for the trip. Dry ice sublimates (i.e., turns directly from a solid into a gas) to gaseous carbon dioxide at typical temperatures and pressures in an aircraft cabin. Excessive carbon dioxide concentrations can cause aircrew incapacitation.
Small amounts of dry ice are allowed as long as the package is properly packed, is properly marked, is less than 5.07 lb., and must be carried in checked baggage. Dry ice intended for personal use to keep perishable food cool is allowed in carry-on baggage provided the package allows the release of carbon dioxide gas (obviously, a sealed container could develop dangerous pressure levels in flight) and doesn’t exceed 4.4 lb. per passenger.
Potentially Dangerous Liquids
The most obvious example of a flammable liquid commonly carried on business aircraft is alcohol. Other examples of flammable liquids include paint, paint thinners, benzene, liquid cement, some cosmetics and camp stove gas. The hazmat regulations allow alcohol as carry-on baggage as long as it is less than 140 proof. Interestingly enough, a few alcoholic beverages (such as rum 151) exceed 140 proof and thus are prohibited in aircraft. Be advised that the rules regarding passengers bringing their own alcohol are a different set of rules from the hazmat regulations.
Consumer commodities for household use, to include hair dyes, fingernail polish and aerosol cans, could cause extreme annoyance or discomfort to a flight crew member. An avid reader described an incident in which a passenger spilled a bottle of fingernail polish remover while in cruise flight. The vapor from the spilled fluid was so noxious that the crew had to perform an immediate precautionary landing. Post-flight inspection found a considerable amount of damage to the underlying structure caused by the spilled fluid.
If a package contains liquids, you must keep the package upright. In the hazmat industry, packages with liquids are marked with arrows that show the proper orientation of the package, and these directions must be followed. If you suspect that the package containing a liquid hazmat has been stored improperly on its side, you really must open the package and inspect it.
You might be dismayed to learn that some containers have been designed and certified for carrying hazmat liquids but that the lids have sometimes been a weak point in the design. You should always keep packages containing liquids in the proper orientation during loading, storage and en route. Always secure these items so they won’t tip over in flight.
In Part 3 of this article, we outline considerations for carrying medical and undeclared hazardous materials.
Considerations For Carrying Hazardous Materials, Part 1: https://aviationweek.com/business-aviation/safety-ops-regulation/consid…
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