Effects of Cold Exposure on Wet Aircraft Passengers: A Review

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Effects of Cold Exposure on Wet Aircraft Passengers: A Review

R. P. Garner / B. C. Wilcox / H. M. England / V. B. Nakagawara

The incorporation of a cabin water spray system (CWSS) aboard commercial passenger aircraft has been suggested as a mechanism of reducing passenger death and injury from the fire and smoke commonly associated with aircraft accidents. A potential health risk associated with a CWSS is the physiological stress that would be imposed upon an individual by being wet from a CWSS in the aircraft cabin and then evacuated into a cold environment. The severity of this type of exposure would be proportional to the degree to which the individual was doused with water and the wind speed and inversely proportionally to the ambient temperature. The physiological responses to partial wetting and subsequent exposure to cold environmental conditions have not been studied. The effects of cold exposure as well as the degree of protection provided to the individual, particularly the cardiorespiratory system, by CWSS would need to be fully investigated to determine if the survival benefits of a CWSS outweigh the potential health risks. Aviation, Thermoregulation, Hypothermia.