Date: 201512
Local time of day: 1201-1800
Location: ZZZ.ARTCC, US
Light: Daylight
Aircraft: A330
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 121
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Passenger
Flight phase: Landing; Climb; Taxi
Aircraft component: Turbine Engine
Component problem: Improperly Operated
Reporter organization: Air Carrier
Reporter function: Flight Attendant In Charge; Flight Attendant (On Duty)
Human factors: Workload; Situational Awareness; Physiological - Other; Communication Breakdown; Time Pressure
Second reporter function: Flight Attendant (On Duty)
Anomaly: Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Maintenance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness / Injury; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
Detector: Person Flight Crew; Person Flight Attendant
When detected: In-flight
Result: Flight Crew Returned To Departure Airport; Flight Crew Returned To Gate; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action; General Maintenance Action
Contributing factors: Company Policy; Human Factors; Procedure
Primary problem: Human Factors

Narrative: Shortly after take-off I smelled a funny odor. I was the A Flight Attendant (FA) so I made an all call to the crew to see if they smelled it also. All flight attendants smelled a strange odor. The front smelled like musty socks and the back smelled like parmesan cheese. I called the captain to tell him about the smell and he said they smelled it as well but they were climbing higher and thought it would dissipate. The D-E-H were all sitting in the forward galley with me. We all had headaches and distorted vision. Soon afterwards; I called the back galley to see if the odor dissipated; it didn't and was informed that our one pregnant (F) Flight attendant was being put on Oxygen. I called the captain to tell him that (F) was on oxygen and while I was on the phone I was informed B-C-F were all on Oxygen. I told the captain we didn't feel safe continuing. He said they were turning the plane around. I got up to go check on the FA's in the back and immediately felt light-headed and caught myself on the jumpseat. The E flight attendant told me to sit down and we got the oxygen bottles down and we were sharing the two bottles between the four of us. We were in the air for about 50 mins total. We landed at XA:14. Upon landing no one in inflight met our aircraft. The 'B' FA called crew service center and within 15 minutes inflight showed up to check on us. We told the inflight supervisors that we wanted to have blood tests run for Carbon Monoxide poisoning. They arranged for transportation to see a company doctor. We arrived there at XC:00. The company doctor said that he couldn't do the blood test. We were involved in many company calls through-out this ordeal and taxis were arranged for us to go to the hospital to get the blood test done. I was never seen by the company doctor since the taxis were on their way to take us to the Emergency Room (ER). A Manager showed up and about an hour later the taxis came. We arrived at the Hospital [5 hours after landing]. We saw the gate agent; who met our flight; in the ER waiting room; who didn't feel well; and we were informed also that three of our passengers needed treatment. The ER process was very fast and had blood drawn to check our CO levels. The doctor informed us that we should have been admitted soon after getting off the airplane. The test results will be forwarded to the company. According to Station Maintenance they washed the left engine the night before and were supposed to let it run for 10-20 minutes as procedure dictated; but the proper time wasn't allotted.I suggest during a fume incident that it should be company policy that you go straight to the ER for CO testing.I suggest that maintenance not take shortcuts when it comes to crew & passenger safety.


Second narrative: We opened the auxiliary kit and put on masks. It was decided that the F needed to go on oxygen immediately as she is 5 months pregnant and we did not know what kind of fumes we were inhaling. Within 10 minutes from the beginning of the smell; we had 2 more bottles of oxygen between the other 3 of us in the back (B; C and G). The G decided not to use oxygen.Upon landing and deplaning we were not met by any manager; supervisor or paramedic. We had to call to ask someone to meet us. We were told by our pilots (who received information from the engineers); that the planes left engine had been cleaned the night before and 'may' not have had the engine run for 10-20 minutes to burn off chemicals; even though that is protocol after engines are cleaned.At this point; I was extremely disoriented; my eyes burned and I had a splitting headache. We all wanted to see a doctor and have our CO levels tested. Shayna began making calls and arranged for [medical] to pick us all up. It took over an hour between getting off the plane and being picked up to be checked out by the company doctor.We found out shortly after arriving at clinic that they would be unable to perform the blood test we needed done. At this point we were trying to get [ground] to take us someplace that could do the test. A Manager showed up and said taxis were on their way. It took about an hour and a half to be shuttled to the hospital.Once at the hospital; we were all admitted extremely quickly. Once I met with the doctor; my blood was drawn and tested for CO levels. The doctor told me it was most likely to come back with normal levels because of how long it had been since our exposure to the toxic fumes and that we should have been tested within a few hours. The test results will be forwarded to the company.There needs to be a very specific protocol for when there is a toxic fume event. We should NOT have been sent to [company medical provider]. They were extremely unprofessional and were unable to perform the test we needed done. Hours were lost spending time there and getting transportation to a location that was able to do the test.


Synopsis: After takeoff; A330 flight attendants detected a strong chemical odor similar to 'spoiled eggs and vomit' which physiologically affected the crew and passengers. The flight returned to the departure airport. Post flight medical examinations revealed physiological symptoms; but blood tests samples were hours delayed and inconclusive.