An A320 flight crew declared and emergency and diverted to the nearest suitable airport following an...

Narrative:

Upon leveling off at FL340; the aft flight attendant called the cockpit to say he smelled wires burning in the aft galley. The captain immediately turned of the galley/cab switch in the cockpit. He told the flight attendant to call back in one minute if he still smelled wires burning. After one minute the flight attendant called and said he still smelled the wire burning smell. He also said the circuit breaker (circuit breaker) panel in the aft galley was hot. At this time the captain told me to ACARS the company and tell them we were diverting. The captain declared an emergency with center. Flight attendants were told to prep the cabin but to expect a normal landing. Normal approach and landing were made. Once on the ground maintenance was called to inspect the smell. Upon removing one of the aft coffee makers; it was evident it was the source of the smell.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A320 flight crew declared and emergency and diverted to the nearest suitable airport following an advisory of burning electrical odors in the aft galley from a Flight Attendant.

Narrative: Upon leveling off at FL340; the aft Flight Attendant called the cockpit to say he smelled wires burning in the aft galley. The Captain immediately turned of the galley/cab switch in the cockpit. He told the Flight Attendant to call back in one minute if he still smelled wires burning. After one minute the Flight Attendant called and said he still smelled the wire burning smell. He also said the Circuit Breaker (CB) panel in the aft galley was hot. At this time the Captain told me to ACARS the company and tell them we were diverting. The Captain declared an emergency with center. Flight attendants were told to prep the cabin but to expect a normal landing. Normal approach and landing were made. Once on the ground Maintenance was called to inspect the smell. Upon removing one of the aft coffee makers; It was evident it was the source of the smell.

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	941364
Time
Date	201104
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A320
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Galley Furnishing
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Captain
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 200 Flight Crew Total 15000 Flight Crew Type 4000
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor

An A320 flight crew declared and emergency and diverted to the nearest suitable airport following an advisory of burning electrical odors in the aft galley from a flight attendant.