A Wall Street Journal investigation has found that dozens of pilots and flight attendants across multiple airlines have developed serious neurological and nerve damage, similar to the trauma seen in NFL players after repeated head injuries. These injuries are linked to toxic fumes that occasionally leak into airplane cockpits and cabins. Experts warn that the problem has escalated over the past decade.
Since 2010, airlines have filed thousands of reports with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The reports document incidents where smoke, oil mist, or other fumes seeped into aircraft compartments. The leaks, which originated from the “bleed air” system, exposed crews and passengers to potentially hazardous chemicals. This system draws air from the jet engines and circulates it through the cabin without filtration.
Most commercial aircraft use this system (the Boeing 787 is the exception). Engine oils and hydraulic fluids can leak and vaporize at high heat. They release organophosphates, industrial chemicals that, in other forms, have been used as nerve agents. FAA data analyzed by the Wall Street Journal shows that fume events have surged from about 12 per million departures in 2014 to nearly 108 per million in 2024. The increase has been especially sharp on Airbus’s widely used A320-family jets.
Medical Experts Warn Of “Chemical Concussions”
Neurologists and occupational medicine specialists have documented serious injuries among aircrew exposed to toxic cabin air. Dr. Robert Kaniecki, who has treated more than 100 flight attendants and about a dozen pilots for such injuries, described the damage as “chemical concussions” that are “extraordinarily similar” to those suffered by NFL linebackers after repeated hits.
He said repeated low-level exposures act like “micro concussions.” They weaken the brain until one severe event becomes “the straw that breaks the camel’s back.” Similarly, Dr. Robert Harrison, an occupational medicine specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, told the Journal he has treated over 100 pilots and flight attendants for neurological and respiratory damage linked to fume exposure, saying: “This is real … This can’t be just all in their heads.”
Crew Members Describe Effects
The investigation highlighted personal accounts from affected crew. JetBlue flight attendant Florence Chesson said she was left with traumatic brain injury and permanent nerve damage after breathing contaminated air on a flight to Puerto Rico: “I felt like someone poured gasoline and lit a match.”
JetBlue pilot Andrew Myers collapsed during a maintenance test and was later diagnosed with chemically induced nervous system injury. His case led to a landmark Oregon workers’ compensation ruling in 2020, which recognized long-term harm resulting from a fume event. According to The Independent, Myers lost his FAA medical license to fly.
Manufacturers And Airlines Push Back — While Acknowledging Risks
Both major aircraft makers acknowledge oil and fluid leaks can release toxins, while insisting their planes meet safety standards. Boeing has said “the cabin air inside Boeing airplanes is safe,” while Airbus has stated its aircraft meet “all relevant and applicable airworthiness requirements.”
However, internal records tell a more alarming story: in one 2017 email revealed during litigation, Boeing quality inspector Steven Reiman warned that oil leaks could make “aircrew sick to the point of death.” The FAA has publicly described fume events as “rare,” but FAA records reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show that the rate has climbed to nearly 108 per million departures.
In a 2018 internal email, an FAA safety inspector also warned that modern jet oils contained organophosphates, chemicals “once used as a nerve agent for warfare,” and noted they were entering cabins unfiltered. Some airlines have begun taking action, and Airbus has launched a program called Project FRESH to redesign the A320’s air system, aiming to reduce “smell in cabin” incidents by an estimated 85% on new aircraft starting in 2026.
