General aviation pilots and aviation maintenance personnel need to take extra steps to eliminate the risks of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, according to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which issued two safety alerts Wednesday to increase awareness of the problem.
Safety Alerts SA-070 and SA-069 “warn mechanics and pilots that the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning is generally overlooked and underestimated — a dangerous prospect given that many internal combustion engine airplanes are heated by air warmed by exhaust systems using a heater shroud,” the NTSB said. “A defect or leak in the exhaust pipes or muffler can introduce the colorless, odorless and tasteless gas into the cockpit — with sometimes fatal results.”…
