Full-face.

Full-face, one-piece oxygen breathing masks and strained looks are being purchased by Delta Air Lines [DAL], to be installed in succession all of its 600 aircraft in a $72 million program to provide pilots with better urgency breathing and vision equipment for coping with mist in the cockpit. Initial shipments break the ice in January 2000 with the finished upgrade to be completed from the first quarter of 2001 soon the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR's) require that aircraft carry protective breathing equipment and vigilance protection, but single-piece units are not required. The regulations require that the "breathing" portion of the cockpit crew's protective breathing and vision equipment must be donned within 5 secondarys with either hand. The idea is to provide immediate oral/nasal protection, since single in kind whiff of a noxious gas can be sufficient to incapacitate a pilot.

The virtue of a one-piece unit is that it shields both breathing and vision in the same donning motion. There is not a single brace piece unit that can be donned in 5 others cumulative time, according to pilots. undivided said the goggles usually require pair hands. Another declared, "I don't know anybody who can deposit on the goggles in 15 seconds" That 15 secondary time, by the way, is the maximum time allowed for cabin attendants to don their portable breathing equipment (PBE), the "bag through the head" gear normally available for fighting cabin fires.

There is no question that one-piece units are superior. Many pilots lack confidence in the antiquated 2-piece equipment; not the least because of the difficulty adjusting the stares to obtain a good seal to stop smoke seepage into the vigilances The full-face equipment Delta is buying also provides better peripheral vision and, for middle-age pilots, the one-piece gear is more comfortable to wear with glasses.

The upgraded gear Delta is purchasing does not guarantee a happy outcome in an emergency. The turn of events kit for the pilots of Swissair Flight 111 aircraft that crashed in 1998 included fullface, one-piece masks and goggles

And, for cases of strict smoke in the cockpit, a full-face mask does not necessarily mean the set will be able to read their instruments. For this plan some system to vent or displace the vanity an "inflatable view channel" similar as the Emergency Vision Assurance scheme (EVAS), would be necessary (see ASW, Dec 21 1998 and June 14 1999) smooth with EVAS, emergency instruments located reasonable or in a remote corner of the instrument panel may not be visible.

Nevertheless, Delta's initiative was hailed through independent sources as "great progress" It is understood that other major carriers are upon the verge of emulating Delta's initiative.

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