Narrative:

After reaching cruise altitude the captain began noticing a slight burning smell emanating from his side of the flight deck. His first thoughts were that it was burning coffee or some food item originating from the cabin. It seemed intermittent and from the first officer seat; I could not smell it. The captain mentioned to me approximately 10 times intermittently (a few minutes between each expression of concern) before I leaned over to his side of the cockpit and smelled a mild indication of what appeared to be an electrical burning smell.we attempted to mentally diagnose the problem but soon realized it could be coming from anywhere. Soon after returning to my side of the cockpit; I could then smell the burning more intensely and within moments the decision was made to divert. The captain and I assessed nearby airports and decided ZZZ was appropriate for the situation because of its resources; our familiarity with the airport; and the current weather. I did not smell any additional burning once we made the decision to divert; although it may have continued. The captain maintained control of the flight controls and the radio communication while I retrieved weather information and speeds for landing. Once speeds were set and approach checklist completed; I took over the radios and the captain briefed the flight attendants and alerted the passengers. Descent; visual approach; and landing were normal. No aircraft limitations were exceeded. Once on the ground; we taxied to the gate and shutdown. All passengers were deplaned and the captain coordinated with maintenance and dispatch.subsequent thoughts: our immediate response became too focused on the problem/source of the smell and we waited too long to land the plane. We recognized this threat quickly and changed our focus to landing the plane as quickly and safely as possible. Another threat was the abnormal procedure and increased workload associated with the diversion. This threat was extinguished quickly by the captain's determination and communication of who would fly the airplane and what duties the pilot not flying would perform.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: After an comparatively extended period attempting to identify and locate the source of a burning electrical odor; the flight crew of a CRJ-700 diverted to a nearby suitable airport.

Narrative: After reaching cruise altitude the Captain began noticing a slight burning smell emanating from his side of the flight deck. His first thoughts were that it was burning coffee or some food item originating from the cabin. It seemed intermittent and from the First Officer seat; I could not smell it. The Captain mentioned to me approximately 10 times intermittently (a few minutes between each expression of concern) before I leaned over to his side of the cockpit and smelled a mild indication of what appeared to be an electrical burning smell.We attempted to mentally diagnose the problem but soon realized it could be coming from anywhere. Soon after returning to MY side of the cockpit; I could then smell the burning more intensely and within moments the decision was made to divert. The Captain and I assessed nearby airports and decided ZZZ was appropriate for the situation because of its resources; our familiarity with the airport; and the current weather. I did not smell any additional burning once we made the decision to divert; although it may have continued. The Captain maintained control of the flight controls and the radio communication while I retrieved weather information and speeds for landing. Once speeds were set and approach checklist completed; I took over the radios and the captain briefed the flight attendants and alerted the passengers. Descent; visual approach; and landing were normal. No aircraft limitations were exceeded. Once on the ground; we taxied to the gate and shutdown. All passengers were deplaned and the Captain coordinated with Maintenance and Dispatch.Subsequent thoughts: our immediate response became too focused on the problem/source of the smell and we waited too long to land the plane. We recognized this threat quickly and changed our focus to landing the plane as quickly and safely as possible. Another threat was the abnormal procedure and increased workload associated with the diversion. This threat was extinguished quickly by the Captain's determination and communication of who would fly the airplane and what duties the pilot not flying would perform.

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.