Narrative:

On taxi out we received a call from a flight attendant in the rear of the aircraft telling us there was smoke coming from the ovens in aft galley. I immediately cut off all power to all galleys. Communication became a problem because the flight attendant hung up after giving us the initial information. I instructed the first officer to call back and find out if there was fire and if smoke had stopped. I then called the first 'a' flight attendant and asked her to check out the situation and report back as soon as possible. When I did not hear back in a reasonable amount of time from the 'a' flight attendant, I instructed the first officer to have the 'a' flight attendant come to the cockpit immediately. She informed me the front galleys had smoked as well but the smoke had stopped with power removed. Other flight attendants informed me of further communication problem in the cabin between the 'a' flight attendant and the other flight attendants. Some flight attendants thought the smoke was coming from an engine because they were having trouble understanding because of a strong accent. I briefed the flight attendant who made the initial call about the importance of keeping the line of communication open as per our airline procedures. We had to make several calls to the back to determine the severity of the situation. This could have been prevented with an open line of communication. It was determined by maintenance that the smoke was caused by tape on the oven racks. The tape began smoking as the ovens heated up. We got new oven racks but smoke still persisted. Flight continued with ovens inoperative.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A PIC OF A B767-200 TAXIING OUT OF THE GATE IN BOS GETS A CALL FROM THE REAR GALLEY HOSTESS ABOUT SMOKE COMING FROM THE OVENS. SHE THEN HANGS UP AND SOME DIFFICULTY IS ENCOUNTERED IN GETTING ANY FLT ATTENDANT TO ANSWER THE INTERCOM TO FIND OUT WHAT IS GOING ON. RETURN TO THE RAMP DISCLOSED PLASTIC ON THE OVEN RACKS.

Narrative: ON TAXI OUT WE RECEIVED A CALL FROM A FLT ATTENDANT IN THE REAR OF THE ACFT TELLING US THERE WAS SMOKE COMING FROM THE OVENS IN AFT GALLEY. I IMMEDIATELY CUT OFF ALL PWR TO ALL GALLEYS. COM BECAME A PROB BECAUSE THE FLT ATTENDANT HUNG UP AFTER GIVING US THE INITIAL INFO. I INSTRUCTED THE FO TO CALL BACK AND FIND OUT IF THERE WAS FIRE AND IF SMOKE HAD STOPPED. I THEN CALLED THE FIRST 'A' FLT ATTENDANT AND ASKED HER TO CHK OUT THE SIT AND RPT BACK ASAP. WHEN I DID NOT HEAR BACK IN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FROM THE 'A' FLT ATTENDANT, I INSTRUCTED THE FO TO HAVE THE 'A' FLT ATTENDANT COME TO THE COCKPIT IMMEDIATELY. SHE INFORMED ME THE FRONT GALLEYS HAD SMOKED AS WELL BUT THE SMOKE HAD STOPPED WITH PWR REMOVED. OTHER FLT ATTENDANTS INFORMED ME OF FURTHER COM PROB IN THE CABIN BTWN THE 'A' FLT ATTENDANT AND THE OTHER FLT ATTENDANTS. SOME FLT ATTENDANTS THOUGHT THE SMOKE WAS COMING FROM AN ENG BECAUSE THEY WERE HAVING TROUBLE UNDERSTANDING BECAUSE OF A STRONG ACCENT. I BRIEFED THE FLT ATTENDANT WHO MADE THE INITIAL CALL ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING THE LINE OF COM OPEN AS PER OUR AIRLINE PROCS. WE HAD TO MAKE SEVERAL CALLS TO THE BACK TO DETERMINE THE SEVERITY OF THE SIT. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED WITH AN OPEN LINE OF COM. IT WAS DETERMINED BY MAINT THAT THE SMOKE WAS CAUSED BY TAPE ON THE OVEN RACKS. THE TAPE BEGAN SMOKING AS THE OVENS HEATED UP. WE GOT NEW OVEN RACKS BUT SMOKE STILL PERSISTED. FLT CONTINUED WITH OVENS INOP.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.