Narrative:

After takeoff at approximately 16;000 ft the 'tail compt temp high' light illuminated. We accomplished the memory items; requested a return to land with ATC; completed the 'tail compt temp high' checklist; overweight landing checklist; reviewed the rlw and clw; advised the flight attendants; completed all normal checklists and landed uneventfully.we were back on the ground about 11 minutes after first encountering the warning light. The warning light extinguished after about 2 minutes following the checklist procedures. When I switched to tower; I confirmed that we wanted to declare an emergency; requested the fire trucks; and advised that the light had extinguished and the trucks were a precaution. There was some difficulty with the language which was outside the normal day-to-day ATC communications. After landing we parked and shutdown all engines. I requested that the aft stairs be dropped and the fire crew to inspect the area with company personnel. We deplaned the passengers via the forward door onto buses. The airport authorities expressed concern that they would have liked to know more about the emergency and our needs prior to landing. Again; it took approximately 11 minutes from warning light to touchdown. My first officer and flight attendants did an excellent job.

Related reports:

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: After takeoff MD83 flight crew returned to the departure airport after receiving a critical emergency warning indication.

Narrative: After takeoff at approximately 16;000 FT the 'Tail Compt Temp High' light illuminated. We accomplished the memory items; requested a return to land with ATC; completed the 'Tail Compt Temp High' checklist; overweight landing checklist; reviewed the RLW and CLW; advised the flight attendants; completed all normal checklists and landed uneventfully.We were back on the ground about 11 minutes after first encountering the warning light. The warning light extinguished after about 2 minutes following the checklist procedures. When I switched to Tower; I confirmed that we wanted to declare an emergency; requested the fire trucks; and advised that the light had extinguished and the trucks were a precaution. There was some difficulty with the language which was outside the normal day-to-day ATC communications. After landing we parked and shutdown all engines. I requested that the aft stairs be dropped and the fire crew to inspect the area with company personnel. We deplaned the passengers via the forward door onto buses. The airport authorities expressed concern that they would have liked to know more about the emergency and our needs prior to landing. Again; it took approximately 11 minutes from warning light to touchdown. My First Officer and flight attendants did an excellent job.

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.