Dhc-8-300 flight crew reported that part of the ceiling panel fell during climb.

Attributes
ACN	1421129
Time
Date	201701
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.TRACON
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Dash 8-300
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Cabin Furnishing
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Person 2
Function	Pilot Flying First Officer
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown

Narrative:

On the initial climbout; the flight attendant called and informed me that a piece of the interior of the aircraft had fallen on passengers. She stated that no one was injured and she had moved the passengers away from the fallen piece. She advised me that it was still hanging with sharp edges and was a danger to the passengers. We returned to [departure airport] and maintenance met us to make the repair. Upon inspection; it was the sidewall light cover that had fallen. It had cracked around the screw holes and become loose.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: DHC-8-300 flight crew reported that part of the ceiling panel fell during climb.

Narrative: On the initial climbout; the flight attendant called and informed me that a piece of the interior of the aircraft had fallen on passengers. She stated that no one was injured and she had moved the passengers away from the fallen piece. She advised me that it was still hanging with sharp edges and was a danger to the passengers. We returned to [departure airport] and maintenance met us to make the repair. Upon inspection; it was the sidewall light cover that had fallen. It had cracked around the screw holes and become loose.

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.