Aerotoxic Association chairman John Hoyte is a former pilot, who stopped flying after experiencing severe symptoms which he eventually realised were the results of poisoning by aerotoxic fumes when tests showed Organo Phosphates in his body. This is his story...

When John Hoyte first became a pilot he put down his extreme exhaustion to the anti-social hours he was working flying permanent nights. At first he assumed this was normal.

Gradually he began to notice other symptoms:

Bright lights would "jump around" and he found it hard to focus, his speech was sometimes slurred, and he had difficulty with memory and thought processing.

Generally regarded by friends and family as a cheerful and equable person he began to suffer from mild depression.

With a growing family and worried about keeping his job, he dismissed his symptoms as an unwelcome side effect and carried on for another ten years. 

By then he was feeling very unwell and his symptoms were increasingly affecting his off-duty life.

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