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Boeing research shows disinfectants kill coronavirus on airplanes

21 October 2020
Dan Ackermann

Boeing and researchers at the University of Arizona say their experiment with a live virus on an unoccupied airplane proves that the cleaning methods currently used by airlines are effective in destroying the virus that causes COVID-19.

Why it matters: Deep cleaning aircraft between flights is one of many tactics the airline industry is using to try to restore public confidence in flying during the pandemic. The researchers say their study proves there is virtually no risk of transmission from touching objects including armrests, tray tables, overhead bins or lavatory handles on a plane.

  • “We’re not just showing we can kill things," University of Arizona microbiologist Charles Gerba said. "We’re showing it’s going to be safer to travel tomorrow."

For the record: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says that some 1.2 billion passengers have traveled worldwide so far in 2020, and there have been just 44 cases of COVID-19 reported that were linked to a flight journey. That’s one case for every 27 million travelers.

  • Most of those cases occurred before masks were required of passengers and crew, IATA notes.
  • Just this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance to strongly recommend face masks on airplanes and all other forms of public transportation, as well as in stations and airports.

What they did: The researchers applied MS2 — a surrogate virus deemed not harmful to humans but more difficult to kill than SARS-CoV-2 — throughout the cabin.

  • About 230 "strategic high-touch points" were targeted, including seat tray tables, arm rests, seat cushions, storage bins and inside the lavatory and galley.
  • Technicians then disinfected each area with various products and technologies using both manual wiping methods and electrostatic spraying.
  • The tests also measured how well Boeing’s ultraviolet wand and antimicrobial coatings worked.

What they found: The University of Arizona analyzed each area post-disinfection and found that all the recommended products, methods and technologies successfully destroyed the MS2 virus, and thus could be expected to kill the coronavirus too.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.