Md-82 flight crew reported a flight attendant called with smoke in the cabin. They declared an emerg...

Narrative:

Ten minutes after take off we received 4 chimes from a flight attendant advising us that they had detected some smoke and fumes around row 8. She said she will investigate it more and call us back. In the meantime; I elected to run the 'smoke/fire/fumes' checklist. Within about a minute the flight attendant called us back and informed us that in fact there was smoke and fumes coming from an overhead bin; and it smelled of melted plastic. At that point she was told to keep us updated and that we would declare an emergency and return to [departure airport]. We declared an emergency with ATC and requested vectors back. Requested arff crew and the frequency for them. Advised tower we would stop on the runway. After we stopped; the first officer coordinated with the arff crew while I made a PA to the passengers and flight attendants. I then opened the cockpit door to get a better visualization of the cabin situation. I asked the flight attendants if it was under control and could we just taxi back to the gate promptly. Their response was; 'yes; it's okay; taxi back to the gate.' I told them to brief the passengers that when we get back to the gate that they were to deplane promptly without their luggage; and that rescue crews would be boarding after that. To my knowledge; no injuries were sustained. Maintenance determined it was a light ballast that overheated.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MD-82 flight crew reported a Flight Attendant called with smoke in the cabin. They declared an emergency and returned to departure airport where a defective light ballast was determined to be the probable cause.

Narrative: Ten minutes after take off we received 4 chimes from a Flight Attendant advising us that they had detected some smoke and fumes around row 8. She said she will investigate it more and call us back. In the meantime; I elected to run the 'Smoke/fire/fumes' checklist. Within about a minute the Flight Attendant called us back and informed us that in fact there was smoke and fumes coming from an overhead bin; and it smelled of melted plastic. At that point she was told to keep us updated and that we would declare an emergency and return to [departure airport]. We declared an emergency with ATC and requested vectors back. Requested ARFF crew and the frequency for them. Advised Tower we would stop on the runway. After we stopped; the First Officer coordinated with the ARFF crew while I made a PA to the passengers and flight attendants. I then opened the cockpit door to get a better visualization of the cabin situation. I asked the flight attendants if it was under control and could we just taxi back to the gate promptly. Their response was; 'Yes; it's okay; taxi back to the gate.' I told them to brief the passengers that when we get back to the gate that they were to deplane promptly without their luggage; and that rescue crews would be boarding after that. To my knowledge; no injuries were sustained. Maintenance determined it was a light ballast that overheated.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 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	1051578
Time
Date	201211
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	MD-82
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb
Route In Use	Vectors
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Cabin Lighting
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Person 2
Function	First Officer Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor

Md-82 flight crew reported a flight attendant called with smoke in the cabin. They declared an emergency and returned to departure airport where a defective light ballast was determined to be the probable cause.