Toxic plane air sickens flight attendant, suit says

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Toxic plane air sickens flight attendant, suit says

_http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/03/bleed.air.contamination/index.htm_

(http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/03/bleed.air.contamination/index.html) l

By Jessica Ravitz

 

 

CNN) -- The last time Terry Williams can remember being headache-free was

in December. A chronic migraine has plagued her ever since. So have balance

and vision problems, a tremor in her left arm, a prickly sensation in her

feet and a loss of childhood memories.

 

 

The ailments, she says, began on April 11, 2007. Williams, then a veteran

American Airlines flight attendant of 17 years, noticed a **misty haze type

of smoke** on flight No. 843 as it taxied toward a gate in Dallas, Texas.

That " fume event, " as it is known, and the physical maladies she felt

afterward drove Williams, 40, to file a product liability lawsuit late Tuesday

in Seattle, Washington, against Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, aircraft

manufacturers linked to the MD-82 aircraft she was on. Her claim: Toxins in the

cabin's air made her sick and a design flaw -- the lack of filters and

sensors -- left her unprotected.

They **knew or should have known that toxic nerve agents, contaminates,

and dangerous fumes could bleed into the plane's ventilation system, causing

serious and irreversible health effects,** her attorneys said in a written

statement.

Boeing spokesman Todd Blecher said he was " aware of the lawsuit " but

couldn't " discuss details of it at this time. "

He then added, " Regarding the issue that the suit appears to raise, I can

say that we believe that the air in airplane cabins is safe. "

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