Book Description
Dry ice is used as a refrigerant for the shipment of perishable goods in the aviation industry. The sublimation of dry ice can, however, lead to incapacitating levels of carbon dioxide in the aircraft cabin environment, as exemplified by the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB's) probable cause determination in a 1998 Brownsville, Texas, incapacitation incident. This incident prompted the NTSB to request that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revisit the dry ice sublimation rate published in FAA Advisory Circular AC 103-4. The sublimation rate used in AC 103-4 to calculate permissible dry ice loads was based on a study where a single, large piece of dry ice (100 lb block) was used. Today, the majority of dry ice shipments contain smaller amounts of dry ice obtained in pellet form (