Blood carbon monoxide and cyanide concentrations in the fatalities of fire and non-fire associated civil aviation accidents

[摘要] Postmortem blood samples submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) from fatal civil aviation accident victims are analyzed for the primary toxic combustion gases carbon monoxide (CO), as carboxyhemoglobin (COHb), and hydrogen cyanide, as cyanide (CN-). These analyses are performed to establish possible exposure of victims to smoke produced during in-flight/post-crash fires or to CO leaked into cabin/cockpit from faulty exhaust/heating systems. The presence of both gases in blood would suggest that the victim was alive and inhaled smoke from a fire. If only COHb is elevated, then the accident (or death) could be the result of CO contamination of the interior. Information pertaining to blood levels of the 2 gases in aviation fatalities, in relation to the associated accidents, is scattered or not available, particularly with regard to toxicity. Therefore, considering that COHb 10% and CN- is equal to or greater than 0.25 �g/mL are sufficient to produce some degree of undesired physiological effects, the necessary information was extracted from the CAMI's toxicology database.

[发布机构] FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine - Civil Aerospace Medical Institute

[关键词] Forensic Sciences;Toxicology;Carbon Monoxide;Hydrogen Cyanide;Smoke Toxicity;Fire/Non-Fire Civil Aviation Accidents;Aircraft Accident Investigation