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B757 captain reported returning to departure airport after experiencing fumes from a recirculation fan issue.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1554382 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201806 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B757 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Flight Phase | Taxi |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Recirculation Fan |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Not Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 350 Flight Crew Total 15812.25 Flight Crew Type 484.38 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor |
Narrative:
We taxied out and recirculation fan was cycling erratically but could not pinpoint issue. We had delay for takeoff. Just prior to departure recirculation fan/fans felt as if they had failed but without any warnings. Cockpit got quiet and it got warm. We were then cleared for takeoff and as we lifted off cabin and cockpit got engulfed with raw gas fumes. Still could not pin point issue. Eventually recirculation fan came back but was cycling. In order to aid recirculation fan recovery and additional clearing of fumes I decided to cycle fans. I further induced issue since being a 757 I locked open the overboard exhaust valve preventing pressurization when I cycled left recirculation fan. Fumes eventually cleared but had to return to [departure airport]. Chatted with dispatch and [maintenance]; conducted all checklists; reviewed performance and returned for overweight landing. Taxied to gate and debriefed with maintenance. Did not declare emergency. In addition I would like to add that when trying to get a hold of [maintenance] through satcom through patch with dispatch; the desk was not manned at that time due to personnel change. There has to be some kind of overlap so that we are not on hold for 10 min while trying to return and land aircraft.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: B757 Captain reported returning to departure airport after experiencing fumes from a recirculation fan issue.
Narrative: We taxied out and recirculation fan was cycling erratically but could not pinpoint issue. We had delay for takeoff. Just prior to departure recirculation fan/fans felt as if they had failed but without any warnings. Cockpit got quiet and it got warm. We were then cleared for takeoff and as we lifted off cabin and cockpit got engulfed with raw gas fumes. Still could not pin point issue. Eventually recirculation fan came back but was cycling. In order to aid recirculation fan recovery and additional clearing of fumes I decided to cycle fans. I further induced issue since being a 757 I locked open the overboard exhaust valve preventing pressurization when I cycled L recirculation fan. Fumes eventually cleared but had to return to [departure airport]. Chatted with Dispatch and [Maintenance]; conducted all checklists; reviewed performance and returned for overweight landing. Taxied to gate and debriefed with Maintenance. Did not declare emergency. In addition I would like to add that when trying to get a hold of [Maintenance] through SatCom through patch with Dispatch; the desk was not manned at that time due to personnel change. There has to be some kind of overlap so that we are not on hold for 10 min while trying to return and land aircraft.
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.