Narrative:

Mechanical issue was confirmed when the mechanics checked the aircraft after the turnback landing. All crewmembers participated in communicating what we saw; felt and smelled; as well as passenger reports; with the mechanics to identify the problem when we were on the ground. It was determined there was a problem with the APU; and it was deferred. Towards the end of departing taxi; right before wheels up; I thought something smelled hot; but was not sure. As the aircraft lifted off the ground; the smell became significantly stronger (to the point I had no doubt I smelled an abnormal odor) and passengers in the first two rows communicated to me verbally that they smelled something too. The passenger in 4C held his nose to let me know he smelled something of concern also. I notified the flight deck at that point (this was only a minute or two time frame) and reported a smell of hot/burning electrical. The pilots had also smelled the odor strongly in the flight deck. The captain requested that I investigate the situation to further identify a possible source of odor; and to report where the odor was the strongest. There was no visible smoke at any time during this incident. Upon leaving my jumpseat to walk through the cabin; most passengers were commenting on the odor with concern. Passengers in rows 11 and 12 smelled the odor quite strongly; as well. My observation was that the smell was significantly stronger in the fwd and galley of the aircraft. I immediately reported my findings to the captain and we discussed that he would report the odor and I would continue to monitor the situation and the passengers for any reactions (medical or emotional). There were 48 revenue and 1 non-rev on board. While the captain was communicating with dispatch; I continued to monitor the situation; feeling around the walls; ceiling and floor of the galley and in the cabin in front of row 1; on both aircraft left and right with my hands. I did not feel any hot spots and reported this back to the captain when he called me back to communicate how we would proceed. It was decided that we would turn back; and follow procedures for a normal landing. No emergency status was assigned; and all crewmembers agreed that we were comfortable with this. At this time; no passengers appeared to need medical attention; nor did anyone indicate they would like it once we were on the ground. A couple of passengers and myself reported slight burning in our eyes and mild burning of noses and throats. Once we had made the announcements to communicate what was going on to the passengers and made the appropriate pre-arrival announcements; I asked (and observed) passengers if they were having any physical discomfort during my compliance checks (next-to-last and last checks). We had a smooth landing and the passengers remained calm. Airport fire crews were on the ground to meet the aircraft when we landed. Passengers were deplaned with their carry-on personal items in a normal fashion; although they were asked to remain in the gate area inside the terminal. Before the flight departed after the aircraft was evaluated by the mechanics; the gate agent reported to myself and the flight crew (later) that 2 passengers had received medical attention: one complained of slight nausea and one complained of a headache. All passengers appeared to be fine by the time the flight departed for our destination (the second time).

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Flight Attendant detected a slight electrical odor just prior to takeoff. Once airborne; the smell became stronger and was noticed by all crewmembers and passengers. The aircraft returned to land but no emergency was declared. A faulty APU was MEL'ed prior to the next departure.

Narrative: Mechanical issue was confirmed when the mechanics checked the aircraft after the turnback landing. All crewmembers participated in communicating what we saw; felt and smelled; as well as passenger reports; with the mechanics to identify the problem when we were on the ground. It was determined there was a problem with the APU; and it was deferred. Towards the end of departing taxi; right before wheels up; I thought something smelled hot; but was not sure. As the aircraft lifted off the ground; the smell became significantly stronger (to the point I had no doubt I smelled an abnormal odor) AND passengers in the first two rows communicated to me verbally that they smelled something too. The passenger in 4C held his nose to let me know he smelled something of concern also. I notified the flight deck at that point (this was only a minute or two time frame) and reported a smell of hot/burning electrical. The pilots had also smelled the odor strongly in the flight deck. The Captain requested that I investigate the situation to further identify a possible source of odor; and to report where the odor was the strongest. There was no visible smoke at any time during this incident. Upon leaving my jumpseat to walk through the cabin; most passengers were commenting on the odor with concern. Passengers in rows 11 and 12 smelled the odor quite strongly; as well. My observation was that the smell was significantly stronger in the fwd and galley of the aircraft. I immediately reported my findings to the captain and we discussed that he would report the odor and I would continue to monitor the situation and the passengers for any reactions (medical or emotional). There were 48 revenue and 1 non-rev on board. While the Captain was communicating with Dispatch; I continued to monitor the situation; feeling around the walls; ceiling and floor of the galley and in the cabin in front of row 1; on both aircraft left and right with my hands. I did not feel any hot spots and reported this back to the captain when he called me back to communicate how we would proceed. It was decided that we would turn back; and follow procedures for a normal landing. No emergency status was assigned; and all crewmembers agreed that we were comfortable with this. At this time; no passengers appeared to need medical attention; nor did anyone indicate they would like it once we were on the ground. A couple of passengers and myself reported slight burning in our eyes and mild burning of noses and throats. Once we had made the announcements to communicate what was going on to the passengers and made the appropriate pre-arrival announcements; I asked (and observed) passengers if they were having any physical discomfort during my compliance checks (next-to-last and last checks). We had a smooth landing and the passengers remained calm. Airport fire crews were on the ground to meet the aircraft when we landed. Passengers were deplaned with their carry-on personal items in a normal fashion; although they were asked to remain in the gate area inside the terminal. Before the flight departed after the aircraft was evaluated by the mechanics; the Gate Agent reported to myself and the flight crew (later) that 2 passengers had received medical attention: one complained of slight nausea and one complained of a headache. ALL passengers appeared to be fine by the time the flight departed for our destination (the second time).

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.