A B757-200 captain on an international leg reported a lumbar motor in a first class seat was emittin...

Narrative:

Inflight flight attendant advised of smell of hot electrics in first class [seat]. Relief pilot in seat. No smoke or fumes noticed in cockpit. Maintenance advised via ACARS. Relief pilot disconnected power cords to seat; smell and heat seemed to dissipate. Cockpit crew turned off utility bus switches and ife (inflight entertainment) switch. Never got a response from maintenance or dispatch via ACARS; unable to establish a phone patch via HF or VHF radios. [About a half hour later] relief pilot advised that smell of hot electrics had returned stronger. Crew elected to land at nearest suitable airport. Still unable to get any message from dispatch or maintenance via ACARS. Landed overweight; 211;000 pounds. Landing uneventful; taxied to ramp. Maintenance later found lumbar support motor was burned along with wiring that had been pinched. Would recommend all aircraft be equipped with a cell phone that works everywhere as communications [at the diversion airport] were very difficult (no ACARS); no phones.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B757-200 Captain on an international leg reported a lumbar motor in a First Class seat was emitting hot electric smell. They were unable to reach Dispatch or Maintenance and diverted to the nearest suitable airport for maintenance.

Narrative: Inflight Flight Attendant advised of smell of hot electrics in First Class [seat]. Relief Pilot in seat. No smoke or fumes noticed in cockpit. Maintenance advised via ACARS. Relief Pilot disconnected power cords to seat; smell and heat seemed to dissipate. Cockpit crew turned off utility bus switches and IFE (inflight entertainment) switch. Never got a response from Maintenance or Dispatch via ACARS; unable to establish a phone patch via HF or VHF radios. [About a half hour later] Relief Pilot advised that smell of hot electrics had returned stronger. Crew elected to land at nearest suitable airport. Still unable to get any message from Dispatch or Maintenance via ACARS. Landed overweight; 211;000 LBS. Landing uneventful; taxied to ramp. Maintenance later found lumbar support motor was burned along with wiring that had been pinched. Would recommend all aircraft be equipped with a cell phone that works everywhere as communications [at the diversion airport] were very difficult (no ACARS); no phones.

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.

Attributes
ACN	915751
Time
Date	201010
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	FO
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B757-200
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Component
Aircraft Component	Pax Seat
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor

A B757-200 captain on an international leg reported a lumbar motor in a first class seat was emitting hot electric smell. They were unable to reach dispatch or maintenance and diverted to the nearest suitable airport for maintenance.