A320 fight crew reported a strong odor in the aircraft during approach and landing; requiring maintenance action.
Synopsis
A320 fight crew reported a strong odor in the aircraft during approach and landing; requiring maintenance action.
Narrative
At about 8;000 ft MSL on the visual approach into XXR in ZZZ; the First Officer and I started to notice a smell within the aircraft. To me is seemed like a plastic type smell; but wasn't that out of the ordinary compared to other aircraft. The Flight Attendants called; below sterile but due to concern regarding the smell. During this period the APU was off. Upon landing and taxiing clear of the runway the APU was turned on. On taxi in the Flight Attendant called again and now said the smell was that of a dirty sock and all three of them were getting headaches and feeling nauseous. I called Maintenance on the way in to the gate so that they could promptly meet us and experience the smell. By the time we were getting to the gate; the First Officer and I were both getting headaches from the fumes. Once at the gate and shut down I went to stand by the cabin door while the Flight Attendant #1 assisted disabled passengers. While walking past the forward lavatory the smell changed from what it was in the cockpit. In the cabin is smelled strongly of exhaust or dirty sock; seemed as though it was an over-serviced APU. I completed the Logbook write up; the company smoke and fume event worksheet within the company app; and then cross checked the FOM to ensure all required items were taken care of. I spoke with maintenance on the jet bridge further about the sequence of events. The First Officer and I then walked to our next gate; our symptoms continued to get worse. We had headaches and were feeling light headed. When we got to the next gate we met up with the Flight Attendants to see how they were feeling and were contemplating a medical evaluation. Both Pilots and Flight Attendants were feeling so poorly we did not feel fit to fly the next leg and opted for removal and medical evaluation.Cause: None; aircraft malfunction. Was later found by maintenance that the high voltage wires were smoking and there was a deteriorated drain line.
Second reporter narrative
Below 10;000 MSL on our descent into ZZZ the #1 Flight Attendant called the flight deck to report a strong odor of burning plastics. We could generally smell the odor as she said something. At this time of the flight; the APU and APU bleed was off. We made a normal landing on XXR in ZZZ. After clearing the runway; the #1 called again and reported the odor was very strong. She reported that her and the #2 and #4 (A320) were experiencing nausea from the odor. We continued to our gate and were held for outbound traffic on the taxiway and ramp. The Captain made a logbook entry and notified ZZZ MX (Maintenance) as we were waiting. Once we parked at the gate; the Captain opened the flight deck and the odor was very strong near the forward galley. It was a much stronger odor than we experienced in the flight deck. The cabin cleaners came onboard and made a comment about how bad the aircraft smelled. ZZZ MX showed up a short time after and they also commented it was the worst; strongest odor they have smelled. I assisted the Captain as he filled out the smoke/fume event required by MX. When finished; we continued to our next gate. I felt an intense headache with mild light headiness when walking. When we arrived at our gate; the Captain and all three flight attendants complained of similar symptoms. We decided to seek medical treatment and removed ourselves from flying for the day. Cause: This event was caused by a substance ingested into the environmental system to cause an odor.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.