Air Travel and Health – A Systems Perspective

Allan Seabridge, Seabridge Systems Ltd, UK Allan Seabridge is recently retired as Head of Flight Systems Engineering with BAE Systems. He has 36 years experience in aerospace systems engineering, business development and research & development, with major projects worked on including Canberra, Jaguar, Tornado, EAP, Typhoon & Nimrod. Since retiring he has developed an interest in engineering education leading to the design and delivery of systems and engineering courses at a number of UK universities at undergraduate and postgraduate level. He also provides technical consultancy to companies in the aerospace industry. Allan's interest in the impact of flying on health was initiated by a study he conducted before retiring to ensure that the company had a proven track record in understanding the issues involved. Later tracking of the subject in the press revealed that many travellers claim to suffer from ill health after flying, and this engendered an interest in collating all the records of such claims and looking at the potential impact on aircraft design and of product liability. Shirley Morgan, UK Having spent 9 years at BAE Systems at Warton as internal communications manager, Shirley Morgan is a freelance journalist with a broad spread of regular clients for whom she writes and produces material from single articles to whole magazines. Her clients come from many sectors, from higher education to defence and pharmaceuticals, as well as not-for-profit organisations.

About the Authors. Series Preface. Preface. Acknowledgements. Acronyms and Abbreviations. 1. Introduction. 1.1. Factors affecting health. 1.2. The system of interest. 1.3. The aircraft. 1.4. Design considerations. 1.5. Summary. 2. Some 'minor' ailments. 2.1. Introduction. 2.2. Some common conditions of air travel. 3. Air quality. 3.1. The atmosphere. 3.2. Aircraft environments. 3.3. Environmental control systems. 3.4. Health issues. 3.5. System implications. 3.6. Request for further information. 4. Deep vein thrombosis. 4.1. Introduction. 4.2. The environment. 4.3. Aircraft environments. 4.4. The system. 4.5. Health issues. 4.6. System implications. 5. Noise and vibration. 5.1. The environment. 5.2. Aircraft environment. 5.3 Health issues. 5.4. System implications. 6. Radiation effects. 6.1. The environment. 6.2. The aircraft environment. 6.3. Aircraft systems. 6.4. Health issues. 6.5. System implications. 6.6. Future developments. 7. Back and neck injury. 7.1. Back pain. 7.2. Neck strain. 7.3. Commercial aircraft issues. 7.4. Lumbar Support. 7.5. Advice for passengers. 8. Some military issues. 8.1. The cockpit environment. 8.2. Effects of acceleration. 8.3. Pressure oxygen breathing & hypoxia. 9. Workstation use. 9.1. The environment. 9.2. Aircraft environments. 9.3. The system. 9.4. Health issues. 9.5. System implications. 10. Regulation and control of risks to health. 10.1. General. 10.2. Legislative framework. 10.3. Summary of legal threats. 10.4. Issues rising. 11. The design process. 11.1. The control of risk. 11.2. Design. 11.3. Application. 11.4. Feedback. 12.Summary and conclusions. 12.1. Integration effects. 12.2. Predisposition. 12.3. Domestic circumstances. 12.4. Comparison with general public health conditions. 12.5. Serious conditions. 12.6. Advice to industry. 12.7. Advice to operators. 12.8. Advice to travellers. 12.9. What can be done? 12.10. Finally. Bibliography. Index.