An A321 captain reported an odor in the aircraft that resembled musky; wet and dirty socks. The odor...

Attributes
ACN	881538
Time
Date	201003
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A321
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Air Conditioning and Pressurization Pack
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor

Narrative:

Heard complaints from flight attendants during boarding about odor in cabin and apparent haze as well. APU was running and providing air conditioning. Heavy rain and wind were present at the time. After engine start APU was shut down and on taxi out continued to receive complaints from flight attendants about odor. Many passengers were also complaining to flight attendants. Odor became more apparent in cockpit as well. Returned to gate; informed maintenance and flight was subsequently canceled. Storm cell had passed by the time we taxied out. Conditions were improving as we left the gate. Contamination of the air from the air conditioning packs on the aircraft.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A321 Captain reported an odor in the aircraft that resembled musky; wet and dirty socks. The odor was strong enough that the crew returned to the gate after taxi out.

Narrative: Heard complaints from Flight Attendants during boarding about odor in cabin and apparent haze as well. APU was running and providing air conditioning. Heavy rain and wind were present at the time. After engine start APU was shut down and on taxi out continued to receive complaints from Flight Attendants about odor. Many passengers were also complaining to Flight Attendants. Odor became more apparent in cockpit as well. Returned to gate; informed maintenance and flight was subsequently canceled. Storm cell had passed by the time we taxied out. Conditions were improving as we left the gate. Contamination of the air from the air conditioning packs on the aircraft.

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.

An A321 captain reported an odor in the aircraft that resembled musky; wet and dirty socks. The odor was strong enough that the crew returned to the gate after taxi out.