# What Would Cause Air Passengers To Get Sick With Carbon Monoxide Ingestion? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 10, 2016, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-air-passengers-to-get-sick-with-carbon-monoxide-ingestion/759572 "2016-07-10T15:31:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-air-passengers-to-get-sick-with-carbon-monoxide-ingestion/759572/1 "2016-07-10T15:31:16Z")
Looks like a dozen or so Delta passengers [got sick from CO ingestion](http://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/delta-flight-diverted-to-tulsa-after-illness-reported-on-saturday-flight). How would something like that happen? Like, what would have to go wrong with the aircraft in order for toxic levels of CO to leak into the cabin? ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2016, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-air-passengers-to-get-sick-with-carbon-monoxide-ingestion/759572/2 "2016-07-13T23:07:44Z")
I once heard about some kind of generator whose exhaust plumbing allowed cabin inhabitants to get sick. It sounded like something similar in principle to a portable gasoline generator being used. For some reason, maybe to let the engine operate closer to standard sea level atmospheric pressure, this thing was inside the cabin. Its exhaust was plumbed to the aircraft exterior but something malfunctioned with that. ---
**Author:** ![zwede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ac91a4/32.png) [@zwede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zwede)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2016, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-air-passengers-to-get-sick-with-carbon-monoxide-ingestion/759572/3 "2016-07-13T23:34:46Z")
I have no inside info, but sounds like something happened to the APU: > **[Auxiliary power unit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auxiliary_power_unit)** > > An auxiliary power unit (APU) is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft and naval ships as well as some large land vehicles. Aircraft APUs generally produce 115 V AC voltage at 400 Hz (rather than 50/60 Hz in mains supply), to run the electrical systems of the aircraft; others can produce 28 V DC voltage. APUs can provide power through single or three-phase systems. > During World War I, the British Coastal class bl... ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-air-passengers-to-get-sick-with-carbon-monoxide-ingestion/759572/4 "2016-07-15T12:24:06Z")
Additional coverage online says no elevated CO level was found on the plane, and no source to explain such a finding was uncovered. One source says the Tulsa F.D. used pulse oximetry to measure the supposedly elevated CO levels, which can give false positive readings. [http://airport.blog.ajc.com/2016/07/11/delta-flight-with-carbon-monoxide-scare-still-a-mystery/](http://airport.blog.ajc.com/2016/07/11/delta-flight-with-carbon-monoxide-scare-still-a-mystery/) [http://www.masimo.com/pdf/clinical/carboxyhemoglobin/Weaver-False-Positive-Rate-of-Carbon-Monoxide-Saturation-by-Pulse-Oximetry-of-Emergency-Department-Patients-Resp-Care-2012.pdf](http://www.masimo.com/pdf/clinical/carboxyhemoglobin/Weaver-False-Positive-Rate-of-Carbon-Monoxide-Saturation-by-Pulse-Oximetry-of-Emergency-Department-Patients-Resp-Care-2012.pdf) Without confirmatory blood testing (if it was done, which sounds doubtful), the mystery includes whether or not the passengers actually had elevated CO levels, and why passengers in the front of the plane reportedly did not get sick. ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-air-passengers-to-get-sick-with-carbon-monoxide-ingestion/759572/5 "2016-07-15T15:01:06Z")
I would bet the Carbon Monoxide entered the plane while it was still on the ground. And would have come from a running ground vehicle, generator, or connection to airport air conditioning. Did the passengers get sick right after the plane took off?