Narrative:

After takeoff from dfw, everything seemed to be normal. About 15-20 mins after we took off, the captain called us and informed us of the problem. He was specific and to the point, he also informed us that we would be going back to dfw to land the airplane. The captain also told us that we would not have to prepare for an evacuate/evacuation or emergency landing. The captain made a PA to tell all passenger of the problem and the return to dfw. We hadn't started our service yet, but we closed up the galley in preparation for landing. The captain was very professional and informative. He called us a couple of times before landing to tell us that everything was going fine and to inform us that we would hear an odd scraping sound on landing. I felt very confident about the entire incident, although I think we were all aware of possible problems arising at the last min. Our captain and first officer are based in XXX, but flight attendant #4 and I had both flown with him before when he was based in boston. Both pilots did an excellent job in this situation from my perspective. The captain was the one who continued to call us (the flight attendants) to keep us calm and informed. Not all capts would have been thinking about the flight attendants and passenger at such a time. Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: the reporter stated that they had a hydraulics problem, and the crew shut down an engine. After returning to dallas, the company took the plane out of service for maintenance.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: CABIN ATTENDANT RPT, MD80, DFW-RDU. ON CLBOUT, MECHANICAL PROB. RETURN TO DALLAS. NO EVAC.

Narrative: AFTER TKOF FROM DFW, EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE NORMAL. ABOUT 15-20 MINS AFTER WE TOOK OFF, THE CAPT CALLED US AND INFORMED US OF THE PROB. HE WAS SPECIFIC AND TO THE POINT, HE ALSO INFORMED US THAT WE WOULD BE GOING BACK TO DFW TO LAND THE AIRPLANE. THE CAPT ALSO TOLD US THAT WE WOULD NOT HAVE TO PREPARE FOR AN EVAC OR EMER LNDG. THE CAPT MADE A PA TO TELL ALL PAX OF THE PROB AND THE RETURN TO DFW. WE HADN'T STARTED OUR SVC YET, BUT WE CLOSED UP THE GALLEY IN PREPARATION FOR LNDG. THE CAPT WAS VERY PROFESSIONAL AND INFORMATIVE. HE CALLED US A COUPLE OF TIMES BEFORE LNDG TO TELL US THAT EVERYTHING WAS GOING FINE AND TO INFORM US THAT WE WOULD HEAR AN ODD SCRAPING SOUND ON LNDG. I FELT VERY CONFIDENT ABOUT THE ENTIRE INCIDENT, ALTHOUGH I THINK WE WERE ALL AWARE OF POSSIBLE PROBS ARISING AT THE LAST MIN. OUR CAPT AND FO ARE BASED IN XXX, BUT FLT ATTENDANT #4 AND I HAD BOTH FLOWN WITH HIM BEFORE WHEN HE WAS BASED IN BOSTON. BOTH PLTS DID AN EXCELLENT JOB IN THIS SIT FROM MY PERSPECTIVE. THE CAPT WAS THE ONE WHO CONTINUED TO CALL US (THE FLT ATTENDANTS) TO KEEP US CALM AND INFORMED. NOT ALL CAPTS WOULD HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THE FLT ATTENDANTS AND PAX AT SUCH A TIME. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR STATED THAT THEY HAD A HYDS PROB, AND THE CREW SHUT DOWN AN ENG. AFTER RETURNING TO DALLAS, THE COMPANY TOOK THE PLANE OUT OF SVC FOR MAINT.

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.