 |
37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
|
Despite a forewarning from maintenance regarding the possibility of residual air conditioning odors due to cleaning of the engines the previous night; the flight crew of an erj-170 elected to return to their departure airport after takeoff due to the level of contamination and the fact that the associated haze had appeared to trigger a lavatory smoke alarm.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1056968 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201212 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | EMB ERJ 170/175 ER/LR |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Takeoff |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying First Officer |
| Experience | Flight Crew Total 5500 Flight Crew Type 300 |
| Person 2 | |
| Function | Flight Attendant (On Duty) |
| Qualification | Flight Attendant Current |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor |
Narrative:
After applying takeoff thrust both pilots smelled a strange odor in the flight deck. After rotation; at approximately 1;000 MSL; the odor significantly increased and as we were discussing what actions we should take a lav smoke indication came up on the EICAS. We exchanged flight controls; donned the oxygen masks; declared an emergency with ATC; advised them about the situation and told them that we were returning for landing.I answered an emergency call from the cabin crew and told them about the indication that we have and asked them if there was any visible smoke coming out of the lavatories. The two flight attendants told me that there was some haze in the cabin; not really smoke but a very strong odor. I advised them that we had declared an emergency with ATC and were returning to the airport for landing. The captain was on downwind abeam the numbers and we started configuring the airplane for landing. After touchdown; as we cleared the runway; the odor was significantly lower and the lav smoke indication had disappeared. I contacted the flight attendants to see what the situation was in the cabin so we could make a decision regarding the need to evacuate. They told me that the odor was not as bad and there was no smoke coming out of the lavatories so we decided to return to the gate. Once we arrived at the gate crash fire rescue equipment personnel came in and inspected the lavatory.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Despite a forewarning from Maintenance regarding the possibility of residual air conditioning odors due to cleaning of the engines the previous night; the flight crew of an ERJ-170 elected to return to their departure airport after takeoff due to the level of contamination and the fact that the associated haze had appeared to trigger a lavatory smoke alarm.
Narrative: After applying takeoff thrust both pilots smelled a strange odor in the flight deck. After rotation; at approximately 1;000 MSL; the odor significantly increased and as we were discussing what actions we should take a LAV SMOKE indication came up on the EICAS. We exchanged flight controls; donned the oxygen masks; declared an emergency with ATC; advised them about the situation and told them that we were returning for landing.I answered an emergency call from the cabin crew and told them about the indication that we have and asked them if there was any visible smoke coming out of the lavatories. The two flight attendants told me that there was some haze in the cabin; not really smoke but a very strong odor. I advised them that we had declared an emergency with ATC and were returning to the airport for landing. The Captain was on downwind abeam the numbers and we started configuring the airplane for landing. After touchdown; as we cleared the runway; the odor was significantly lower and the LAV SMOKE indication had disappeared. I contacted the flight attendants to see what the situation was in the cabin so we could make a decision regarding the need to evacuate. They told me that the odor was not as bad and there was no smoke coming out of the lavatories so we decided to return to the gate. Once we arrived at the gate CFR personnel came in and inspected the lavatory.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.