A former flight attendant has won a pay-out from Boeing after being exposed to toxic fumes in the cabin, sparking fears that countless passengers could be breathing in 'bad air'. Mother-of-two Terry Williams says her life was changed . by a single incident, when toxic smoke and oil fumes leaked into the cabin in April 2007 as an American Airlines flight from Memphis to Dallas taxied to the gate. Mrs Williams said she has suffered, among other symptoms, memory loss, tremors and speech and vision impairment. Lawsuit: Terry Williams claimed her exposure to 'bad air' came as oil fumes leaked into her MD-82 cabin as an American Airlines aircraft (similar to the ones pictured) taxied to the gate . During the incident on Flight 843 Mrs Williams, from Seattle, said her eyes began to water, her throat . tightened, she began to cough and she developed a headache that hasn't . gone away. The 42-year-old, who used to enjoy cooking . for her husband, Gary, and their sons, Zak, seven, and Jake, five, said: 'When I used to make French toast for . my family, first I'd make the bread. Now I . can't even remember the recipe.' She said that as well as memory loss, she suffers from disabling coughing spasms, asthma, sore throat, recurrent . tremors, fatigue, . nausea, speech impairment, loss of balance, vision impairment, and . numbness and tingling in her hands, arms, shoulders and feet. Toxic fumes: Terry William's settlement has sparked fears countless passengers may be exposed to 'bad air' on board aircrafts . Doctors diagnosed her with neurotoxic disorder due to exposure to the fumes. The amount and conditions of her out-of-court settlement remain confidential, but the 250,000 pages of company documents that Boeing . turned over to her legal team are certain to fuel . the long-running battle over the safety of cabin air in commercial aircraft. Boeing and the airline industry maintain that cabin air, compressed air pumped or 'bled,' from the . plane's engine — is safe. They say such breaches are extremely rare and . that short-term exposure to the tiny amounts of toxic substances poses no health risk. But Judith Murawski, a Seattle-area based . industrial hygienist for the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, said she handles at least three new cases a . week involving crew members exposed to fumes. Many calls come from crew . members on their way to emergency rooms or urgent care clinics, she told . msnbc.com. While Terry Williams' lawsuit is believed to be the first of its type settled in the U.S., an Australian court held aircraft manufacturer British Aerospace liable for the injuries of Joanne Turner, a flight attendant for now-defunct East-West Airlines. Turner was five months pregnant in 1992 when she breathed thick smoke entering the cabin of a British-built BAe 146 on a Sydney-to-Brisbane flight. Following the exposure, she suffered a burning throat, sore eyes, a headache and a persistent cough. She sued East-West in 2001. In September 2010, the Australia High Court upheld her $138,757 award. A lower court found that it could have been predicted that the breakdown of seals on the plane's auxiliary power unit would allow toxic oil fumes to enter the cabin. British Aerospace in 1993 also paid East-West and Ansett airlines more than $2million to settle complaints about the BAe146, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Mrs Williams sued McDonnell Douglas and . its parent company, Boeing, in the Superior Court in King County, Washington in . 2009. She claimed the airplane maker knew that the plane and its . bleed-air system were defective and did nothing to protect her or . other passengers and crew. Boeing said it 'still contends that cabin air is safe to breathe . and studies by independent researchers have shown that . existing systems for providing cabin air to passengers and crew meet . applicable health and safety standards'. But airline crews say faulty 'bleed-air' systems have been causing health problems dating back to the start of jet travel in the 1950s. In severe cases exposure to . the toxic fumes has cost pilots their jobs. Passengers can even be put in danger if pilots experience aerotoxicity symptoms such as . drowsiness, disorientation and memory loss as a result of exposure. Experts say that out of 28,000 commercial flights per day, at least one will be affected by toxic fumes. Although every incident of contaminated air, which contains tricresyl phosphates (TCPs), is recorded, experts predict other toxic elements can cause illness. Giving evidence for Mrs Williams, U.S. Airways captain Mick Fowler said he suffered 'fatigue and wooziness and grogginess' during a 'fume incident' while landing a Boeing 767. Although he landed the plane safely in January last year, he said: 'It's not an experience that I would like to repeat at all.' Safe: Boeing has insisted cabin air, compressed air pumped, or 'bled,' from the plane's engine is safe, saying such breaches are extremely rare . As the case developed, Boeing was forced to turn over pages of documents dating to 1954 and 1955 that showed the company was aware of cabin air contamination and had sought detection and filtration systems to combat the problem. Executives also revealed in internal paperwork there could be health hazards related to exposure to toxic fumes when oil leaks into bleed-air systems. Sixteen U.S. Airways pilots and flight . attendants in April sued a U.S. Airways contractor, ST Aerospace Mobile, . over what they said was a failure in maintenance at its Mobile, Alabama, . servicing center. They claim this resulted in six fume events aboard the same Boeing 767 from December 28, 2009, to April 25, 2010. Among . the plaintiffs' symptoms were headaches, sore throats, eye irritations, . dizziness and nausea. Some also complained of fatigue and cognitive . difficulties. At least two plaintiffs were pilots who lost their medical clearances. In . August, the union representing 6,900 U.S. Airways flight attendants sent a . letter to FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt seeking an investigation of . 87 purported air supply contamination events in 2009 and 2010, 41 of . which were confirmed with mechanical records as oil-contamination . events. Boeing, like jetliner manufacturers Airbus and British Aerospace, has relied on bleed-air systems since the early 1950s. However, its new 787 Dreamliner instead has an air circulation system that uses electric compressors. Boeing spokesman Bret Jensen told msnbc.com that the decision to design a new system was based on fuel savings and environmental performance. 'It had nothing to do with bleed air,' he said. However, in a document Boeing sent to the FAA about its new plane the company cited concerns about carbon monoxide, which is released as TCP breaks down. Boeing also asserted that it met federal standards when its airplanes were certified by the FAA and therefore could not be held liable for Williams' injuries, but the court rejected that motion. American Airlines is now said to  have 'stepped up the game' and holds monthly meetings to address incidents. But other airlines have drawn criticism for their response to crew members' complaints. U.S. Airways spokesman John McDonald said the issue was an emotional one for flight attendants. In the two-year span cited in the letter, U.S. Airways had 2.2 million flights, Mr McDonald said. Of the 87 incidents the union listed, only 40 eventually turned out to be fume events, he added. Paul Morell, U.S. Airways' vice president for safety, said the airline tracks and works to prevent fume events.
Boeing settles out of court to woman suffering memory loss and tremors .
A former flight attendant has won a pay-out from Boeing after being exposed to toxic fumes in the cabin, sparking fears that countless passengers could be breathing in 'bad air'. Mother-of-two Terry Williams says her life was changed . by a single incident, when toxic smoke and oil fumes leaked into the cabin in April 2007 as an American Airlines flight from Memphis to Dallas taxied to the gate. Mrs Williams said she has suffered, among other symptoms, memory loss, tremors and speech and vision impairment. Lawsuit: Terry Williams claimed her exposure to 'bad air' came as oil fumes leaked into her MD-82 cabin as an American Airlines aircraft (similar to the ones pictured) taxied to the gate . During the incident on Flight 843 Mrs Williams, from Seattle, said her eyes began to water, her throat . tightened, she began to cough and she developed a headache that hasn't . gone away. The 42-year-old, who used to enjoy cooking . for her husband, Gary, and their sons, Zak, seven, and Jake, five, said: 'When I used to make French toast for . my family, first I'd make the bread. Now I . can't even remember the recipe.' She said that as well as memory loss, she suffers from disabling coughing spasms, asthma, sore throat, recurrent . tremors, fatigue, . nausea, speech impairment, loss of balance, vision impairment, and . numbness and tingling in her hands, arms, shoulders and feet. Toxic fumes: Terry William's settlement has sparked fears countless passengers may be exposed to 'bad air' on board aircrafts . Doctors diagnosed her with neurotoxic disorder due to exposure to the fumes. The amount and conditions of her out-of-court settlement remain confidential, but the 250,000 pages of company documents that Boeing . turned over to her legal team are certain to fuel . the long-running battle over the safety of cabin air in commercial aircraft. Boeing and the airline industry maintain that cabin air, compressed air pumped or 'bled,' from the . plane's engine — is safe. They say such breaches are extremely rare and . that short-term exposure to the tiny amounts of toxic substances poses no health risk. But Judith Murawski, a Seattle-area based . industrial hygienist for the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, said she handles at least three new cases a . week involving crew members exposed to fumes. Many calls come from crew . members on their way to emergency rooms or urgent care clinics, she told . msnbc.com. While Terry Williams' lawsuit is believed to be the first of its type settled in the U.S., an Australian court held aircraft manufacturer British Aerospace liable for the injuries of Joanne Turner, a flight attendant for now-defunct East-West Airlines. Turner was five months pregnant in 1992 when she breathed thick smoke entering the cabin of a British-built BAe 146 on a Sydney-to-Brisbane flight. Following the exposure, she suffered a burning throat, sore eyes, a headache and a persistent cough. She sued East-West in 2001. In September 2010, the Australia High Court upheld her $138,757 award. A lower court found that it could have been predicted that the breakdown of seals on the plane's auxiliary power unit would allow toxic oil fumes to enter the cabin. British Aerospace in 1993 also paid East-West and Ansett airlines more than $2million to settle complaints about the BAe146, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Mrs Williams sued McDonnell Douglas and . its parent company, Boeing, in the Superior Court in King County, Washington in . 2009. She claimed the airplane maker knew that the plane and its . bleed-air system were defective and did nothing to protect her or . other passengers and crew. Boeing said it 'still contends that cabin air is safe to breathe . and studies by independent researchers have shown that . existing systems for providing cabin air to passengers and crew meet . applicable health and safety standards'. But airline crews say faulty 'bleed-air' systems have been causing health problems dating back to the start of jet travel in the 1950s. In severe cases exposure to . the toxic fumes has cost pilots their jobs. Passengers can even be put in danger if pilots experience aerotoxicity symptoms such as . drowsiness, disorientation and memory loss as a result of exposure. Experts say that out of 28,000 commercial flights per day, at least one will be affected by toxic fumes. Although every incident of contaminated air, which contains tricresyl phosphates (TCPs), is recorded, experts predict other toxic elements can cause illness. Giving evidence for Mrs Williams, U.S. Airways captain Mick Fowler said he suffered 'fatigue and wooziness and grogginess' during a 'fume incident' while landing a Boeing 767. Although he landed the plane safely in January last year, he said: 'It's not an experience that I would like to repeat at all.' Safe: Boeing has insisted cabin air, compressed air pumped, or 'bled,' from the plane's engine is safe, saying such breaches are extremely rare . As the case developed, Boeing was forced to turn over pages of documents dating to 1954 and 1955 that showed the company was aware of cabin air contamination and had sought detection and filtration systems to combat the problem. Executives also revealed in internal paperwork there could be health hazards related to exposure to toxic fumes when oil leaks into bleed-air systems. Sixteen U.S. Airways pilots and flight . attendants in April sued a U.S. Airways contractor, ST Aerospace Mobile, . over what they said was a failure in maintenance at its Mobile, Alabama, . servicing center. They claim this resulted in six fume events aboard the same Boeing 767 from December 28, 2009, to April 25, 2010. Among . the plaintiffs' symptoms were headaches, sore throats, eye irritations, . dizziness and nausea. Some also complained of fatigue and cognitive . difficulties. At least two plaintiffs were pilots who lost their medical clearances. In . August, the union representing 6,900 U.S. Airways flight attendants sent a . letter to FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt seeking an investigation of . 87 purported air supply contamination events in 2009 and 2010, 41 of . which were confirmed with mechanical records as oil-contamination . events. Boeing, like jetliner manufacturers Airbus and British Aerospace, has relied on bleed-air systems since the early 1950s. However, its new 787 Dreamliner instead has an air circulation system that uses electric compressors. Boeing spokesman Bret Jensen told msnbc.com that the decision to design a new system was based on fuel savings and environmental performance. 'It had nothing to do with bleed air,' he said. However, in a document Boeing sent to the FAA about its new plane the company cited concerns about carbon monoxide, which is released as TCP breaks down. Boeing also asserted that it met federal standards when its airplanes were certified by the FAA and therefore could not be held liable for Williams' injuries, but the court rejected that motion. American Airlines is now said to  have 'stepped up the game' and holds monthly meetings to address incidents. But other airlines have drawn criticism for their response to crew members' complaints. U.S. Airways spokesman John McDonald said the issue was an emotional one for flight attendants. In the two-year span cited in the letter, U.S. Airways had 2.2 million flights, Mr McDonald said. Of the 87 incidents the union listed, only 40 eventually turned out to be fume events, he added. Paul Morell, U.S. Airways' vice president for safety, said the airline tracks and works to prevent fume events.
suffered, among other symptoms, memory loss, out of 28,000 commercial flights per day, at