B737 flight crew reported flight attendants informed them of an electrical burning odor in the cabin during cruise. Flight crew diverted and landed safely.
Synopsis
B737 flight crew reported flight attendants informed them of an electrical burning odor in the cabin during cruise. Flight crew diverted and landed safely.
Narrative
While at cruise flight at FL360 I received a call from one of the flight attendants informing me that there was an odor of possible burning electrical in the cabin at rows 24-26. He said there was no smoke. After a brief consultation with me he checked the overhead bins in the airplane and they were all cool to the touch. He checked the video controller which is located above row 25 and it was cool to the touch and was functioning normally. He checked with the passengers in this area and had them disconnect their personal devices from the airplane outlets. He touched each of their devices and determined that none of them were overheating or the cause of the odor. He told me that on a scale of 1 to 10 the odor was a 3 for him. This observation was confirmed by other flight attendants. I turned off the IFE (In-flight Entertainment) switch and had the flight attendant ask all passengers to disconnect their portable devices from the charging outlets. I asked the flight attendant for an update in two minutes. I completed the QRC for smoke; fire or fumes. I determined that it was not necessary to don the O2 mask. I spoke again with the flight attendant and he told me that the odor was gone. At this time I notified dispatch via ACARS about what was occurring and pending any changes it was my plan to continue to ZZZ. I also spoke with dispatch via VHF and during that conversation we agreed that ZZZ1 was a closer alternative with adequate ARFF (Airport Rescue and Firefighting) facilities should I need to divert. I asked the flight attendant to update me every five minutes and immediately if there were any change. In less than ten minutes (exact time unknown); I spoke with the flight attendant and he told me the odor had returned and he now assessed it at a 5 out of 10 in terms of its intensity. Because this was an increase; I decided to [advise ATC] and divert to ZZZ1 since it was the closest airport with adequate ARFF (Airport Rescue and Firefighting) facilities. I notified ATC; turned towards ZZZ1 and then worked through the smoke/fire/fumes checklist. I communicated no less than 20 times with the flight attendants during this incident. I made PA announcements to the passengers notifying them of our intentions. Immediately after landing and clearing the runway uneventfully; we were met by ZZZ1 airport fire units who examined the exterior of the aircraft. I asked them to utilize their heat detection devices. They drove around the entire aircraft and said that everything appeared normal. All their heat readings were normal and there was no evidence of any fire. I communicated with the flight attendants and they told me that the odor had dissipated in the cabin. I believe that this was probably the result of completing air related items in the checklist. I determined that it was safe to go to the gate. I coordinated with airport operations to view the aircraft as we approached the gate area and immediately notify me if there were any abnormalities observed. There were none. Upon arrival at the gate; I met with the Airport Fire Captain and asked him to go immediately to the area surrounding rows 24-27 and look for any evidence of a fire or anything unsafe. A few minutes later; he told me he deemed the aircraft to be safe and the passengers were deplaned in a normal fashion. I met with maintenance at ZZZ1 and detailed the situation to them. I completed a report. I contacted the Chief Pilot and explained the occurrence to him; the on-duty Chief Pilot. The Chief Pilot later asked if I would complete a 'smoke/odor in the plane questionnaire' and give it to maintenance; I did so. Following our landing in ZZZ1; I met with the entire crew to assess their condition. They all individually said they were OK. I offered them food. We later switched aircraft and flew the passengers to ZZZ. Our greatest concern was whether we had an on-board electrical fire when the odor returned.
Second reporter narrative
While at cruise flight at FL360 we received a call from one of the flight attendants informing us that there was an odor of possible burning electrical in the cabin at rows 24-26. He said there was no smoke. After a brief consultation with the Captain; he checked the overhead bins in the airplane and they were all cool to the touch. He checked the video controller which is located above row 25 and it was cool to the touch and was functioning normally. He checked with the passengers in this area and had them disconnect their personal devices from the airplane outlets. He touched each of their devices and determined that none of them were overheating or the cause of the odor. He told us that on a scale of 1 to 10 the odor was a 3 for him. This observation was confirmed by other flight attendants. We turned off the IFE (In-flight Entertainment) switch and had the flight attendant ask all passengers to disconnect their portable devices from the charging outlets. Captain asked the Flight Attendant for an update in two minutes. We completed the QRC for smoke; fire or fumes. He determined that it was not necessary to don the O2 mask. He spoke again with the flight attendant and he told the Captain that the odor was gone. At this time the Captain notified dispatch via ACARS about what was occurring and pending any changes it was my plan to continue to ZZZ. He also spoke with dispatch via VHF and during that conversation we agreed that ZZZ1 was a closer alternative with adequate ARFF (Airport Rescue and Firefighting) facilities should I need to divert. The Captain asked the Flight Attendant to update me every five minutes and immediately if there were any change. In less than ten minutes (exact time unknown); he spoke with the Flight Attendant and he told him the odor had returned and he now assessed it at a 5 out of 10 in terms of its intensity. Because this was an increase; the Captain decided to [advise ATC] and divert to ZZZ1 since it was the closest airport with adequate ARFF (Airport Rescue and Firefighting) facilities. We notified ATC; turned towards ZZZ1 and then worked through the smoke/fire/fumes checklist. Captain communicated no less than 20 times with the flight attendants during this incident. He made PA announcements to the passengers notifying them of our intentions. Immediately after landing and clearing the runway uneventfully; we were met by ZZZ1 fire units who examined the exterior of the aircraft. We asked them to utilize their heat detection devices. They drove around the entire aircraft and said that everything appeared normal. All their heat readings were normal and there was no evidence of any fire. We communicated with the flight attendants and they told us that the odor had dissipated in the cabin. We believe that this was probably the result of completing air related items in the checklist. The Captain determined that it was safe to go to the gate. We coordinated with airport operations to view the aircraft as we approached the gate area and immediately notify me if there were any abnormalities observed. There were none. Upon arrival at the gate; the Captain met with Airport Fire Captain and asked him to go immediately to the area surrounding rows 24-27 and look for any evidence of a fire or anything unsafe. A few minutes later; he told us he deemed the aircraft to be safe and the passengers were deplaned in a normal fashion. We met with maintenance at ZZZ1 and detailed the situation to them. The Captain completed a report and contacted the Chief Pilot and explained the occurrence to the on-duty Chief Pilot. The Chief Pilot later asked if I would complete a 'smoke/odor in the plane questionnaire' and give it to maintenance; the Captain did so. Following our landing in ZZZ1; the Captain met with the entire crew to assess their condition. They all individually said they were OK and he offered them food. We later switched aircraft and flew the passengers to ZZZ. Our greatest concern was whether we had an on-board electrical fire when the odor returned.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.