B737-800 flight crew had a flight attendant notify them of an acrid electric smell at mid-cabin. Fli...

Narrative:

At FL390; the 'B' flight attendant called the cockpit and spoke with the first officer reporting an acrid electrical smell at mid-cabin. The 'a' flight attendant also smelled it; while the 'C' flight attendant did not. At that time; the captain spoke with the flight attendants via the inter-phone to get more information; and he determined that a diversion was necessary and we agreed on an alternate airport. We coordinated with ATC informing them of our intentions and the emergency was declared. We complied with the smoke/fire/fumes QRH checklist. The captain was the pilot flying and I communicated with ATC during the descent; spoke with the flight attendants per the abnormal checklist; and retrieved the airport charts from the alternate binder. I completed all of the abnormal and normal checklists as we were on final approach; and we landed overweight at 129.4 pounds and stopped on the runway. The tower asked if we could clear the runway; and we did so. At this time; the fire crews pulled up next to the aircraft and asked what our area of concern was: we reported over-wing/ mid-cabin. Fire crews completed a visual exterior and thermal imaging inspection with no defects noted; and we then taxied to the gate. After coordinating with maintenance; dispatch; and local customer service; the customers were deplaned.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737-800 flight crew had a Flight Attendant notify them of an acrid electric smell at mid-cabin. Flight crew declared an emergency and diverted.

Narrative: At FL390; the 'B' Flight Attendant called the cockpit and spoke with the First Officer reporting an acrid electrical smell at mid-cabin. The 'A' Flight Attendant also smelled it; while the 'C' Flight Attendant did not. At that time; the Captain spoke with the flight attendants via the inter-phone to get more information; and he determined that a diversion was necessary and we agreed on an alternate airport. We coordinated with ATC informing them of our intentions and the emergency was declared. We complied with the Smoke/Fire/Fumes QRH Checklist. The Captain was the pilot flying and I communicated with ATC during the descent; spoke with the flight attendants per the abnormal checklist; and retrieved the airport charts from the alternate binder. I completed all of the abnormal and normal checklists as we were on final approach; and we landed overweight at 129.4 LBS and stopped on the runway. The Tower asked if we could clear the runway; and we did so. At this time; the fire crews pulled up next to the aircraft and asked what our area of concern was: we reported over-wing/ mid-cabin. Fire crews completed a visual exterior and thermal imaging inspection with no defects noted; and we then taxied to the gate. After coordinating with Maintenance; Dispatch; and local Customer Service; the customers were deplaned.

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	1052620
Time
Date	201212
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737-700
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Not Flying
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 229 Flight Crew Type 1090
Person 2
Function	Pilot Flying Captain
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 201 Flight Crew Type 10000
Events
Anomaly	Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor

B737-800 flight crew had a flight attendant notify them of an acrid electric smell at mid-cabin. Flight crew declared an emergency and diverted.