Narrative:

After completing the meal service, I noticed a hot or burning smell around rows 19-22. It was faint and then it would get a little stronger. It would come and go. About this time, a few passenger in the area commented on it. I called the captain and he came back and decided to land as soon as possible. The smell was strongest near the PA speakers in the passenger service unit. We turned off the vcr and the captain turned off power to that system. As we descended, the smell did not come back. Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: the reporter said that they diverted to el paso, tx. They were 1 hour into the flight when they called the cockpit. Afterwards, they found a hot wire going into the video player.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: FLT ATTENDANT RPT, B757, LAX-DFW, BURNING ELECTRICAL SMELL IN PAX SEAT ENTERTAINMENT UNIT. DIVERT LAND.

Narrative: AFTER COMPLETING THE MEAL SVC, I NOTICED A HOT OR BURNING SMELL AROUND ROWS 19-22. IT WAS FAINT AND THEN IT WOULD GET A LITTLE STRONGER. IT WOULD COME AND GO. ABOUT THIS TIME, A FEW PAX IN THE AREA COMMENTED ON IT. I CALLED THE CAPT AND HE CAME BACK AND DECIDED TO LAND ASAP. THE SMELL WAS STRONGEST NEAR THE PA SPEAKERS IN THE PAX SVC UNIT. WE TURNED OFF THE VCR AND THE CAPT TURNED OFF PWR TO THAT SYS. AS WE DSNDED, THE SMELL DID NOT COME BACK. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR SAID THAT THEY DIVERTED TO EL PASO, TX. THEY WERE 1 HR INTO THE FLT WHEN THEY CALLED THE COCKPIT. AFTERWARDS, THEY FOUND A HOT WIRE GOING INTO THE VIDEO PLAYER.

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.