Susan Michaelis

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Susan Michaelis is a former Australian flight instructor and airline transport pilot. [1] She is also a researcher [2] working on the issue of contaminated air on aircraft and the health effects of exposure to heated jet engine oils and hydraulic fluids known to contaminate the breathing air supply on aircraft, often called aerotoxic syndrome. [3] She is a part of the University of Stirling's Occupational and Environmental Health Research group, where she is an Honorary Sensor Research Fellow. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Contents

Early life and education

Michaelis was born in Melbourne, Australia, and attended Lauriston Girls' School. In 1986, she received her Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from the Chisholm Institute of Technology before moving on to train as an airline pilot.

Michaelis obtained a Ph.D. in Safety Science in 2010 from the University of New South Wales. [9] Her thesis addressed health and flight safety implications of exposure to aircraft contaminated air. [10]

In 2016, she qualified as an air accident investigator and obtained an MSc at Cranfield University in "Air Safety and Accident Investigation". [11] Her thesis addressed how oil leaks past seals in turbine engines. [12]

Michaelis also holds National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health and COSHH qualifications in health and safety and the use of hazardous substances.

In 1999, along with Ansett Australia flight attendant, Judy Cullinane, she helped initiate the 1999 Australian Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee inquiry into contaminated air on aircraft. [13]

Michaelis has completed two half ironman triathlon events.

Career as a pilot

Michaelis initially worked as a flight instructor at Southern Air Services at Moorabbin Airport in Melbourne before working in the Northern Territory flying single and multi-crew commercial flights across the top end of Australia for Air North and Lloyd Aviation on twin Cessna and Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante aircraft.

In 1991, she joined Eastern Australia Airlines, and was the first officer on a British Aerospace Jetstream 31 flight from Sydney to Newcastle that later became the first all-female-crewed flight for the Qantas group. [14] [15]

In 1994, she began flying the British Aerospace BAe 146 until 1997, when she retired due to ill health after repeated exposure to contaminated air on the aircraft she flew.

Career as a researcher

In 2006, she was appointed Head of Research for the not-for-profit Global Cabin Air Quality Executive [16] [17] and in 2007 published the Aviation Contaminated Air Reference Manual. [18] [19]

Michaelis sits on numerous committees dealing with the topic of contaminated air such as the European Committee for Standardization Committee TC436, SAE International SAE-E31, and AC-9 committees.

She is regularly asked to speak at international conferences on the topic of aircraft contaminated air, [19] [20] [21] and has published many peer-reviewed papers. [4] [22] [23]

She is also a member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health and the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management.

Michaelis is featured in three documentaries: Flying Sheilas (2007), [24] Angel without Wings (2010), [25] [26] and Broken Wings (2011). [27]

Awards

In 1987, she was awarded the Civil Aviation Safety Authority Sir Donald Anderson Trophy for Academic Merit when she qualified as a commercial pilot.

In 2017, she was awarded the Cranfield University Course Director's Prize for her work on her MSc Implementation Of The Requirements For The Provision Of Clean Air In Crew And Passenger Compartments Using The Aircraft Bleed Air System.

In 2018, she was awarded the Global Cabin Air Quality Executive annual Flight Safety Award. [28]

In 2023, she was awarded a British Citizen Awards, the first Australian to receive the award.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airliner</span> Aircraft designed for commercial transportation of passengers and cargo

An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an airplane intended for carrying multiple passengers or cargo in commercial service. The largest of them are wide-body jets which are also called twin-aisle because they generally have two separate aisles running from the front to the back of the passenger cabin. These are usually used for long-haul flights between airline hubs and major cities. A smaller, more common class of airliners is the narrow-body or single-aisle. These are generally used for short to medium-distance flights with fewer passengers than their wide-body counterparts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aviation accidents and incidents</span> Aviation occurrence involving serious injury, death, or destruction of aircraft

An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until all such persons have disembarked, and in which (a) a person is fatally or seriously injured, (b) the aircraft sustains significant damage or structural failure, or (c) the aircraft goes missing or becomes completely inaccessible. Annex 13 defines an aviation incident as an occurrence, other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft that affects or could affect the safety of operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flight attendant</span> Position in an aircrew

A flight attendant, traditionally known as a steward or stewardess ; or air host or hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are primarily responsible for passenger safety and comfort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aircraft noise pollution</span> Noise generated by powered aircraft

Aircraft noise pollution refers to noise produced by aircraft in flight that has been associated with several negative stress-mediated health effects, from sleep disorders to cardiovascular ones. Governments have enacted extensive controls that apply to aircraft designers, manufacturers, and operators, resulting in improved procedures and cuts in pollution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Aerospace 146</span> Regional airliner family by British Aerospace, later BAE Systems

The British Aerospace 146 is a short-haul and regional airliner that was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2001. Avro International Aerospace manufactured an improved version known as the Avro RJ. Production for the Avro RJ version began in 1992. Later on, a further-improved version with new engines, the Avro RJX, was announced in 1997, but only two prototypes and one production aircraft were built before production ceased in 2001. With 387 aircraft produced, the Avro RJ/BAe 146 is the most successful British civil jet airliner program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aviation safety</span> State in which risks associated with aviation are at an acceptable level

Aviation safety is the study and practice of managing risks in aviation. This includes preventing aviation accidents and incidents through research, educating air travel personnel, passengers and the general public, as well as the design of aircraft and aviation infrastructure. The aviation industry is subject to significant regulation and oversight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Airline Pilots' Association</span> British trade union

The British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) is the professional association and registered trade union for UK pilots. BALPA represents the views and interests of pilots, campaigning on contractual, legal and health issues affecting its members and the flying public.

Bleed air is compressed air taken from the compressor stage of a gas turbine, upstream of its fuel-burning sections. Automatic air supply and cabin pressure controller (ASCPC) valves bleed air from low or high stage engine compressor sections; low stage air is used during high power setting operation, and high stage air is used during descent and other low power setting operations. Bleed air from that system can be utilized for internal cooling of the engine, cross-starting another engine, engine and airframe anti-icing, cabin pressurization, pneumatic actuators, air-driven motors, pressurizing the hydraulic reservoir, and waste and water storage tanks. Some engine maintenance manuals refer to such systems as "customer bleed air".

Air rage is aggressive or violent behavior on the part of passengers and crew of aircraft, especially during flight. Air rage generally covers both behavior of a passenger or crew member that is likely caused by physiological or psychological stresses associated with air travel, and when a passenger or crew member becomes unruly, angry, or violent on an aircraft during a flight. Excessive consumption of alcohol is often a cause.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beechcraft 1900</span> Commuter airliner and light transport aircraft

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Patricia A. Friend is the former International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO. A United Airlines flight attendant since 1966, during her 16 years as International President, Friend was a respected leader in the airline industry and throughout the labor movement.

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Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines is a 2007 British documentary film about aerotoxic syndrome directed and produced by former airline captain Tristan Loraine.

The Aerotoxic Association was founded on 18 June 2007, at the British Houses of Parliament by former BAe 146 Training Captain John Hoyte, to raise public awareness about the ill health allegedly caused after exposure to airliner cabin air that he claimed been contaminated to toxic levels, by engine oil leaking into the bleed air system, which pressurizes all jet aircraft, with the exception of the Boeing 787.

Aerotoxic syndrome relates to ill-health effects associated with breathing contaminated air in an airliner cabin. Researchers have associated aerotoxic syndrome with exposure to substances such as engine oil and hydraulic fluid. Although researchers have identified correlations between the aircraft occupational environment and symptoms of aerotoxic syndrome, this condition is not an established medical diagnosis because the incidence and aetiology of the condition are still under debate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fume event</span> Aircraft cabin air contamination

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas DC-2</span> Two engined airliner

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American Eagle is a US brand name for the regional branch of American Airlines, under which six individual regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights. Three of these airlines, Envoy Air, Piedmont Airlines, and PSA Airlines, are wholly owned subsidiaries of the American Airlines Group. American Eagle's largest hub is Charlotte Douglas International's Concourse E, which operates over 340 flights per day, making it the largest express flight operation in the world.

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References

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  6. "Contaminated air on flights can lead to long-term sickness and airlines are ignoring the problem, study claims" . Independent.co.uk . 27 July 2017. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022.
  7. "Former pilot says contaminated air on planes is 'like breathing car exhaust fumes'". HeraldScotland. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  8. "Flights can make aircrew sick, Stirling study suggests | About". University of Stirling. 17 June 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
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  13. corporateName=Commonwealth Parliament; address=Parliament House, Canberra. "Report into Air Safety and Cabin Air Quality in the BAe 146 Aircraft". www.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 19 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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  15. "Flying Sheilas". 19 January 2009.
  16. Benns, Matthew (30 May 2014). "Something deadly in the aircraft". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  17. "GCAQE Structure". GCAQE. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
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  19. 1 2 "ICOH Report on Scientific Committees" (PDF).
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  21. "ISABE 2019" (PDF).
  22. "AEROTOXIC SYNDROME: A NEW OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE?" (PDF). Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  23. "2021 Aircraft Cabin Air Conference" . Retrieved 20 December 2020.
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  27. "Broken Wings". www.factnotfictionfilms.com. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  28. "GCAQE Flight Safety".