A MD80 crew declared an emergency then returned to the departure airport after the pilots noticed an...

Narrative:

Climbing out of 18;000 ft; [we] started to notice odor in air conditioning system. Out of FL230; flight attendants notified us of smoke in the cabin. Emergency was declared by the captain and I commenced to take us back to the departure airport with clearance to 11;000 ft and a left turn. With clearance down to 6;000 ft; I elected to use emergency authority and continue toward the airport at 300 KTS instead of slowing to 250 KTS. As we approached the airport I slowed and met all flap speeds and landing weights within limitations. Upon landing; smoke had dissipated and we taxied to the gate with fire trucks.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A MD80 crew declared an emergency then returned to the departure airport after the pilots noticed an odor in the cockpit and the Flight Attendants reported smoke in the cabin.

Narrative: Climbing out of 18;000 FT; [we] started to notice odor in air conditioning system. Out of FL230; Flight Attendants notified us of smoke in the cabin. Emergency was declared by the Captain and I commenced to take us back to the departure airport with clearance to 11;000 FT and a left turn. With clearance down to 6;000 FT; I elected to use emergency authority and continue toward the airport at 300 KTS instead of slowing to 250 KTS. As we approached the airport I slowed and met all flap speeds and landing weights within limitations. Upon landing; smoke had dissipated and we taxied to the gate with fire trucks.

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	952440
Time
Date	201106
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	MD-82
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying First Officer
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor

A MD80 crew declared an emergency then returned to the departure airport after the pilots noticed an odor in the cockpit and the flight attendants reported smoke in the cabin.