News
Innotech earns approval for cabin air-quality system
Oct. 18, 2010, Montreal - Innotech Aviation has received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) approval for its Cabin Air-quality (I-CAIR) System.
October 18, 2010 By Carey Fredericks
It is approved for installation on Bombardier Global Express and Global XRS business aircraft. In June, the system also received U.S. FAA STC approval.
The I-CAIR system was jointly developed by Innotech Aviation and Montreal-based Air Data Inc., using its JetAir™ Bio-Protection Systems (BPS), with installations being performed at Innotech’s completion center in Montreal. The system can be installed on the aircraft as part of an in service or retrofit program.
Innotech director of sales and marketing, Tony Rawlinson said, “The EASA certification of the I-CAIR system is the final phase in our worldwide expansion of this product. Now that the system has both FAA and EASA approval, we are excited to continue marketing its revolutionary features to customers in Europe and worldwide.”
Pioneered in space, the system is derived from patented “cold plasma ionic interaction” technology and is currently in use on the International Space Station. Unlike traditional, simple air filters, the I-CAIR system is an “active” design; it uses an electric sterilization technique to “catch and inactivate” air contaminants. In addition to its germicidal effect, the technique has a further advantage of simultaneous reduction in a wide range of harmful and annoying gases, against which traditional air filters have no effect.
Rawlinson added, “This system greatly increases cabin atmosphere purity, by limiting the transmission of infections and protecting passengers and crew from a wide range of contaminants, both biological and chemical.”
A key example of the system’s effectiveness can be seen with the substantial reduction in cabin ozone levels, which are naturally elevated at high altitudes. Studies have shown that ozone reacts with many surfaces and substances within an aircraft cabin, creating gaseous by-products that are sources of dryness and discomfort for passengers’ eyes and nasal membranes.
