If you've ever watched the old 1980s comedy “Airplane!”, you know the main problem: The pilots bite into the fish, everyone falls sick, and there is chaos at 35,000 feet. That's the situation that played out in the film and it's one that poses a real aviation safety risk and one that real-world protocols are meant to avoid.

The protocols were trialled in a recent flight from Hyderabad to London Heathrow by British Airways, when all three of its pilots on board suffered from food poisoning. The incident concluded without incident, but the facts that have come to light since raise some uncomfortable questions about the existence of a pattern of complaints that the airline seemingly ignored.

What Happened Onboard BA276

British Airways' flight BA276 from Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport to London Heathrow would be a gruelling 11-hour flight, long enough to necessitate the presence of a third pilot on the flight deck to enable the crew to take regular breaks during the cruise phase. That three-pilot setup was quite different on this particular flight.

During the flight one of the first officers became violently ill and is thought to have had food poisoning. This became so serious that he was unable to move and needed additional oxygen. The other two pilots (the captain and the other first officer) experienced symptoms as well throughout the flight, but were not serious enough to prevent them from flying the aircraft.

Luckily, the symptoms developed in those two pilots greatly intensified only after the plane safely landed back in the UK. British Airways has said passengers' safety was never at risk during the flight and the plane returned safely to Heathrow. All three pilots then submitted Air Safety Reports describing the incident, and were requested to submit medical samples for investigators to try and determine the exact source of the contamination.

Determine Where the Contamination is Likely to have Originated From

The three pilots had breakfast together in the club lounge at their layover hotel in Hyderabad on the morning of the flight and it is thought that it could have been there that they became infected with food poisoning.

Here, the narrative takes a turn for the worse and becomes more than just a plane crash. Union officers from the pilot fraternity attending the incident have said that there have been several dozen complaints regarding hygiene conditions at British Airways' layover hotel in Hyderabad, but the airline had nothing to do about these complaints prior to the incident.

To be brief, here's a summary of the key facts, as they now stand:

• Three pilots aboard BA276 suffered from food poisoning on the air leg from Hyderabad to London. On the flight from Hyderabad to London, all three pilots got food poisoning.
• One pilot suffered from incapacitating symptoms that were made worse after landing and the other two suffered from symptoms that worsened greatly upon landing.
• A probable source is a common hotel club lounge breakfast prior to departure.
• Dozens of previous complaints about the same Hyderabad layover hotel are reported by the unions of pilots.
• British Airways says it is now looking into and considering the crew accommodation there.

The airline's response in public confirmed that the welfare of its colleagues is a primary concern and the airline has been reviewing the accommodation of its crew members in Hyderabad after "some isolated reports of sickness. The characterization of "some isolated reports" is in stark contrast to the union's characterization of dozens of complaints, which will undoubtedly be the crux of any investigation to come.

The Logic Behind this Situation in Aviation

This multiple pilot incapacitation issue has always been a concern for the aviation industry and many of the protocols concerning crew meal planning are geared towards that issue. Most major airlines require the crew to order separate meals while in the air, just to reduce the risk of getting both main pilots the same meal. It's a no-brainer that's free to run and why?It's a very simple redundancy that doesn't cost anything, and it's there for a very particular reason.

The difference here is that the contamination occurred before boarding, at the hotel, and before and during a meal shared by the three crew members, but not while in flight, where they would have applied the same level of redundancy checking they do when choosing meals. While there are no formal rules requiring pilots to eat different foods at the layover hotel, it's not impractical or intrusive to put in place, and the Hyderabad incident has proved that the vulnerability is not just inside the aircraft, but there as well.

On long-haul flights, the three-pilot setup is also a safety measure, a way of preventing pilot fatigue from causing issues when it is most important. If all three pilots are experiencing symptoms at the same time, but two of them are still able to fly, it is just the type of situation that redundancy should protect against.

The Union's Complaint and What It Reveals

What actually happened on the flight may not be the most important aspect of the story, but what was presumably taking place and being reported on the months and years leading up to the accident. Pilot unions are accurate, there have been dozens of complaints about hygiene at this particular hotel, and British Airways had a heads-up that the layover accommodation in Hyderabad was unhygienic, yet failed to take action on the information until a serious incident forced them to.

A pattern that occurs in several aspects of aviation safety: maintenance complaints are not addressed, safety reports are not followed up on, and crew concerns are filed and never followed through. If the union's version of things is true, the Hyderabad situation really does not fit the bill. The airline's response, however, doesn't match up entirely to the “dozens of complaints” description and that discrepancy is something that should be explored as the investigation continues.

What British Airways has said

The airline says it is probing into the incident and is looking at crew quarters at the Hyderabad facility. No timetable has been announced for that inspection, nor has anything been said about the fact that the airline's description of the complaint history differs from the union's.

All three pilots are recovering, it is reported. The aircraft, a Boeing 777-200ER was flown to Heathrow and back into service.

The Bottom Line

Three pilots who became unwell with food poisoning symptoms in the middle of a flight from Hyderabad to London on a Boeing 777-200ER for British Airways landed safely at Heathrow. One pilot became incapacitated and needed oxygen; the other two pilots were able to continue flying until they were able to land, but their symptoms became more severe after landing. The most likely scenario is a breakfast served together in a hotel club before boarding. 

Dozens of hygiene complaints had earlier been made about British Airways' Hyderabad layover hotel, report pilot unions, who allege such complaints were ignored. British Airways is now looking at crew accommodation there, but should have done so much sooner, according to the union's account of the history of complaints.