The Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) says its investigators were unable to pinpoint the cause of a May 2008 incident in which five crewmembers and an undetermined number of passengers on an Airbus A319-132 became ill, with symptoms ranging from drowsiness to a loss of sensation in their limbs.
In its final report on the incident, the AAIU ruled out one hypothetical cause after another, saying there was no evidence of air contamination, poor air quality or inadequate air supply in the cabin or on the flight deck. There also was no indication of depressurization. The incident occurred around 1245 local time on May 27, 2008, about 12 minutes after departure from Dublin for a flight to Cologne, Germany.1 Six crewmembers and 119 passengers were aboard.
The first indication of a problem occurred as the airplane climbed through 10,000 ft, the report said.
“The purser called the cockpit on the intercom and reported that something…
