Narrative:

[We were in] IMC; rain; engine anti-ice on; light to moderate turbulence. FL330 climbing FL370. First officer and I noticed strong electrical-burning smell. Smell increasing in intensity. Flight attendants in both front and aft report smell as well. No visible smoke. Donned O2 mask and accomplished 757 QRH smoke/fire/fumes checklist. Within 60 seconds of turning the utility busses off the electrical-burning smell began to diminish. Within 120 seconds electrical-burning smell was just a faint odor. I confirmed this with the flight attendants. Instructed them to immediately report if the smell returned. No electrical-burning smell noticed after five minutes. No popped circuit breakers; no warning lights; no EICAS messages. Dispatch notified. Emergency declared. Diverted to [a suitable airport]. Divert [to a different/closer airport] considered but both myself and first officer felt the component which caused the electrical-burning smell was no longer electrically powered and that the condition was stable. We had [other] enroute emergency alternates if the smell returned. I did not re-establish any system which was shut off during the QRH procedure. Flight landed uneventfully. Aircraft taken out of service. I believe the quick action of the flight crew in detecting and identifying the electrical-burning smell and quickly removing electrical power via the checklist prevented smoke accumulation in the cabin.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B757-200 Captain reported diverting to a suitable airport after a utility buss began generating an electrical burning smell.

Narrative: [We were in] IMC; rain; engine anti-ice on; light to moderate turbulence. FL330 climbing FL370. First Officer and I noticed strong electrical-burning smell. Smell increasing in intensity. Flight Attendants in both front and aft report smell as well. No visible smoke. Donned O2 mask and accomplished 757 QRH smoke/fire/fumes checklist. Within 60 seconds of turning the utility busses off the electrical-burning smell began to diminish. Within 120 seconds electrical-burning smell was just a faint odor. I confirmed this with the flight attendants. Instructed them to immediately report if the smell returned. No electrical-burning smell noticed after five minutes. No popped circuit breakers; no warning lights; no EICAS messages. Dispatch notified. Emergency declared. Diverted to [a suitable airport]. Divert [to a different/closer airport] considered but both myself and First Officer felt the component which caused the electrical-burning smell was no longer electrically powered and that the condition was stable. We had [other] enroute emergency alternates if the smell returned. I did not re-establish any system which was shut off during the QRH procedure. Flight landed uneventfully. Aircraft taken out of service. I believe the quick action of the flight crew in detecting and identifying the electrical-burning smell and quickly removing electrical power via the checklist prevented smoke accumulation in the cabin.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.