B757-200 flight crew reported a 'burning rubber odor' during initial climb. After troubleshooting the flight crew requested priority handling to a diversion airport where a safe landing was executed. Maintenance met the aircraft at company ramp.
Synopsis
B757-200 flight crew reported a 'burning rubber odor' during initial climb. After troubleshooting the flight crew requested priority handling to a diversion airport where a safe landing was executed. Maintenance met the aircraft at company ramp.
Narrative
During the takeoff phase of flight the smell of burning rubber entered the flight deck. We cleaned up the aircraft and continued the climb. The FO (First Officer); who provided excellent communication throughout the event; reiterated the odor. There was no other indication of fire; smoke; EICAS (Engine Indicating and Crew Alerting System); Fire Warning; just the odor. I was considering the fact we had just departed ZZZ; Tower closed; non maintenance staffed gateway. I was also considering continuing to ZZZ1; this didn't seem likely because of the smell of burning rubber. The odor never became bad enough for us to don our 02 masks; although in hindsight; we should have. Passing approximately FL210 I requested to level off at FL240. I saw ZZZ2 on the ND (Navigation Display) about 110 NM in front of us. After a short discussion with the FO we decided to divert to ZZZ2. We suspected it might be a pack; so; I requested priority handling and requested a decent below 10;000 FT. so we could turn the packs off. We spent the rest of the flight preparing to land and I briefly looked at the Smoke; Fumes; and Fire checklist. I decided not to accomplish that checklist because we were getting close to ZZZ2 and needed to concentrate on putting the aircraft on the ground safely. With the packs off it was hard to tell if the odor dissipated; but; it didn't get worse. I requested crash crew assistance once we landed. The FO flew a flawless approach and landing while I ran checklists; communicated and set the aircraft up for the approach. We landed and exited the runway uneventfully and continued to taxi to the Company ramp; which was a short distance from where we exited. The crash crews followed us and inspected the aircraft and saw no damage or 'hot spots' with their thermal imager. The crash crew entered the flight deck and confirmed the odor; but couldn't find a source. We then dismissed them and thanked them for their assistance. The mechanics in ZZZ2 opened Air Cycle Machine compartments and found a duct separation on the right side; the probable source of the odor.
Second reporter narrative
On power-up for takeoff; a burning rubber smell emerged in the cockpit. The smell progressively got worse as the aircraft reached cruise altitude. We discussed the issue and collectively agreed to divert to ZZZ2 as it was the most practical location to quickly and safely put the aircraft down. We looked at multiple checklists to determine the most appropriate course of action. We narrowed the smell down to a possible air conditioning pack malfunction and determined that we should perform a preventative shutdown of both packs. This would lead to cabin depressurization so we decided to rapidly descend below 10000 ft to position for a safe pack shutdown. The most expeditious means of descending was a high speed descent with speed brakes deployed. This procedure resulted in speeds above the regulated 250KT IAS below 10k. We followed all ATC instructions in the process; but the nature of the issue allowed for this deviation. The speed exceedance was momentary as we passed through 10k ft and shutdown the packs and prepared for landing. We could have avoided speeding by leveling the aircraft to slow prior to descending below 10k. In hindsight we should have donned oxygen masks as well.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.