Topic: Hydraulic Fluid

A Delta MD-90 flight in Denver underwent an emergency evacuation after smoke filled the cabin during taxiing. The smoke was caused by hydraulic fluid dripping onto a hot power unit. The incident highlights concerns regarding the maintenance of aging aircraft fleets, as the MD-90 model has been out of production for nearly two decades.

The Airbus A320 has a history of cockpit fume incidents caused by hydraulic fluid leaking into the auxiliary power unit (APU). The hosts discuss how toxic fumes could incapacitate a flight crew, potentially explaining why a pilot might leave the cockpit or fail to respond. They argue that the removal of flight engineers from modern cockpits has increased the risk of unmanaged technical failures.