Physiological problems caused by transportation of hazardous cargo in military aircraft.

This is the second of two articles describing reported incidents involving hazardous cargo on U.S. military aircraft over a 10-year period. In this article, we describe the various physiological responses reported on the incident reports. These physiological incidents may have involved either the aircrew, the passengers, or both. We also list the substances that caused the problems. Physiological responses ranged from nausea and lightheadedness to loss of consciousness. We discuss why flights involving a physiological incident may not have been aborted. The present military hazardous cargo incident reporting system is deficient in that there appears to be no requirement for reporting whether passengers were on board the incident aircraft, or whether passengers or aircrew suffered physiological responses to various toxic substances.