20 August 2020: The entire world is currently waging a fierce war against the COVID-19 pandemic. Till we discover a permanent remedy, prevention is the only solution. Keeping this in mind, many MROs and aerospace industries have come up with different solutions to ensure safe and sanitary air travel for passengers. In one such attempt, Duncan Aviation has completed an industry-first Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the Aviation Clean Air (ACA) ionization system for Bombardier Global aircraft. This STC is available now for the Bombardier Global Express, Express XRS, 5000, 5500, and 6000. The best part is that the installation can be completed in less than two weeks.
“Most of us have always known there were dangerous viruses and bacteria in the world. We’ve all heard of the SARS and MERS viruses and drug-resistant bacteria, and now we can add COVID-19 to the list. Avoiding them mostly meant washing our hands often and thoroughly,” said Michael Kussatz, Duncan Aviation Avionics Regional Sales Manager in the Eastern US. “We researched several products and found that the ACA ionization system gives pilots and passengers a space where there is a very natural process that deactivates these pathogens, rendering them harmless, as we travel in comfort.”
ACA can be easily installed in the aircraft’s existing environmental control system and it improves the quality of air by killing pathogens and removing allergens and unpleasant odours. Innovative BioAnalysis conducted a series of tests in May and found ACA ioniser to be effective at rendering harmless the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The lab test showed that 99.4 per cent of the virus particles were inactivated within 30 minutes. The system has been tested and proven to kill the coronavirus that caused SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), as well. The ionized hydrogen molecules also deactivate other viral, bacterial, and fungal pathogens such as those that cause the common cold, flu (swine, avian, etc.) MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), C. diff (clostridium difficile), E. coli (Escherichia coli), pneumonia, polio, and mold.
In addition to pathogens, the ACA component neutralizes potentially harmful gasses caused by fuel emissions, other VOCs (volatile organic compounds), and offensive odours caused by cooking or cleaning, cigarette and cigar smoke, stagnant air, and lavatories. Pet odours are also neutralized. The system will also reduce the static electricity in aircraft that’s caused by the low relative humidity of the cabin air.
The team at Duncan Aviation is now working on STCs for other makes/models, including a Challenger 300/350 slated for a late-October completion. Duncan Aviation can install the ACA air ionizer as a stand-alone event or part of a scheduled-maintenance event.
