Narrative:

At ZZZ; upon flight crew initial boarding at departing gate aircraft had a strong undetermined odor; no air conditioning was on aircraft for maybe a couple hours; inbound from ZZZZ. Figured it would go away once we got air-conditioning on. Had two mechanic on aircraft; in flight deck for an other issue and they commented about the odor also. During the 2:44 hr flight; (flight deck crew) noses started to burn; then eyes burned; followed later by a taste and feel oily texture on our tongue. Seemed to get much stronger during decent. At gate deplaning flight attendant told me passengers complaining and that one passenger had got sick and threw up. I asked one deplaning passenger that didn't look well if there was something I could do for him. The comment was 'no; get out of my way I want off this airplane.' I said sorry as he walked away. Now during the flight I had ACARS company twice. Once about the oily smell from air-conditioning system; and would be entering that into the flight log book for maintenance; and ACARS another time to let them know our symptoms to help maintenance trouble shoot the problem. Upon deplaning two mechanics met us on the jetway we explained the issue of the fumes and he said he could smell it from the jetway and didn't need to go on board. Later the flight crew all went to the hospital; we were sick.callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: the reporter stated that the odor to him as a burning plastic smell that carried an oily taste and texture component. Because this occurred on a night flight the crew was not aware of a smoke or haze with the smell. The odors effect was different for various people but generally a dizziness with nausea were common symptoms. One of the pilots and a flight attendant are experiencing long term effects. The reporter stated that in retrospect the crew should have used oxygen during the last part of the flight. The reporters air carrier maintenance believed that the APU was the cause but the reporter doubts the accuracy of that diagnosis because the APU was utilized only for engine start and the smell lasted essentially the entire 2 plus hour flight.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A319 cabin and flight station had a foul odor accompanied by a taste and texture that made passengers and crew members ill. The flight crew sought medical treatment.

Narrative: At ZZZ; upon flight crew initial boarding at departing gate aircraft had a strong undetermined odor; no air conditioning was on aircraft for maybe a couple hours; inbound from ZZZZ. Figured it would go away once we got air-conditioning on. Had two mechanic on aircraft; in flight deck for an other issue and they commented about the odor also. During the 2:44 hr flight; (flight deck crew) noses started to burn; then eyes burned; followed later by a taste and feel oily texture on our tongue. Seemed to get much stronger during decent. At gate deplaning Flight Attendant told me passengers complaining and that one passenger had got sick and threw up. I asked one deplaning passenger that didn't look well if there was something I could do for him. The comment was 'No; get out of my way I want off this airplane.' I said sorry as he walked away. Now during the flight I had ACARS company twice. Once about the oily smell from air-conditioning system; and would be entering that into the flight log book for maintenance; and ACARS another time to let them know our symptoms to help maintenance trouble shoot the problem. Upon deplaning two mechanics met us on the jetway we explained the issue of the fumes and he said he could smell it from the jetway and didn't need to go on board. Later the flight crew all went to the hospital; we were sick.Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: The reporter stated that the odor to him as a burning plastic smell that carried an oily taste and texture component. Because this occurred on a night flight the crew was not aware of a smoke or haze with the smell. The odors effect was different for various people but generally a dizziness with nausea were common symptoms. One of the pilots and a flight attendant are experiencing long term effects. The reporter stated that in retrospect the crew should have used oxygen during the last part of the flight. The reporters air carrier maintenance believed that the APU was the cause but the reporter doubts the accuracy of that diagnosis because the APU was utilized only for engine start and the smell lasted essentially the entire 2 plus hour flight.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.