Narrative:

The aircraft was thoroughly covered in de-icing fluid for our flight. We were loaded with dangerous goods listed; but not limited to: toluene; adhesives; compressed gas; resin; flammable aerosols; environmentally hazardous liquids; dry ice; and other. The first officer (first officer) and I have flown together in the past on the A300; but this was the first leg of the first day together. The first officer was called out on reserve for the flight. During climb out through approximately 16;000 feet we had a momentary aft loop B warning on the ECAM for the main deck cargo smoke det system. It reoccurred shortly thereafter. Since the panel and system was closer to him on his overhead; we transferred controls and I asked him to run the procedure while I worked ATC and flew. ATC swapped us to a new frequency as we approached 18;000. We were cleared to FL230. We elected to stop earlier at fl 210. While I got us started in a turn back to ZZZ; the first officer ran the checklist more than once and ended at the same spot. I tried to remain in the loop best I could and provide support while assessing all the variables. We agreed that a return would be the most prudent. At around 267;000 pounds we expedited our descent and approach while trying to brief and coordinate with each other and ATC. Approach; landing; and rollout were without incident. At no time did we experience any smoke; fire or fumes. Crash fire and rescue (crash fire rescue equipment) confirmed no fire. ATC; crash fire rescue equipment and operations coordinated with us on the ground.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A300 flight crew experienced an intermittent smoke indication; so they returned to the departure airport.

Narrative: The aircraft was thoroughly covered in de-icing fluid for our flight. We were loaded with Dangerous Goods listed; but not limited to: Toluene; Adhesives; Compressed Gas; Resin; Flammable Aerosols; Environmentally Hazardous Liquids; Dry Ice; and other. The First Officer (FO) and I have flown together in the past on the A300; but this was the first leg of the first day together. The FO was called out on reserve for the flight. During climb out through approximately 16;000 feet we had a momentary AFT LOOP B warning on the ECAM for the MAIN DECK CARGO SMOKE DET SYSTEM. It reoccurred shortly thereafter. Since the panel and system was closer to him on his overhead; we transferred controls and I asked him to run the procedure while I worked ATC and flew. ATC swapped us to a new frequency as we approached 18;000. We were cleared to FL230. We elected to stop earlier at FL 210. While I got us started in a turn back to ZZZ; the FO ran the checklist more than once and ended at the same spot. I tried to remain in the loop best I could and provide support while assessing all the variables. We agreed that a return would be the most prudent. At around 267;000 pounds we expedited our descent and approach while trying to brief and coordinate with each other and ATC. Approach; landing; and rollout were without incident. At no time did we experience any smoke; fire or fumes. Crash Fire and Rescue (CFR) confirmed no fire. ATC; CFR and OPS coordinated with us on the ground.

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.