Insider's January 13, 2023 Gerard Butler says he mistakenly rubbed acid all over his face while filming 'Plane' and didn't realize until he was 'burning alive' links to the Late Night with Seth Meyers January 12, 2023 Gerard Butler Burned His Face with Phosphoric Acid While Filming Plane where after 06:16 Butler describes a scene where he's working on the wheels of the aircraft:
It's burning my face, and I mean burning. It turns out this is essentially phosphoric acid. And the airline pilots that were there watching go, "No!" They're trying to put water on my face. "Don't put water. It will make it worse!" And I'm just, like, burning alive. So it was intense.
The insider article also links to Spartan.edu's Facts You Should Know About Aviation Hydraulics and Landing Gear which under the Types of Hydraulic Fluid heading it says:
- Synthetic Based Fluids: This type of oil is usually dyed purple and is typically composed of a man-made phosphate ester, an ester derived from an alcohol and phosphoric acid. However, it can also be colored either green or amber. Despite its benefits, it can ruin paints, soften some plastics, and sometimes slowly chip away at the insulation, which can degrade the wiring over time. This type of fluid is common on larger transport aircraft.
Searching Wikipedia for "phosphate ester" returns the Organophosphate article, which explains this is a large group of compounds with uses including pesticides, nerve agents and flame retardants.
So while the hydraulic fluid he got on his face likely did not contain phosphoric acid it still sounds like scary stuff.
Question: How dangerous (or not) are some synthetic types of aviation hydraulic fluids based on organophosphates?
