Narrative:

During cruise both pilots noticed an odor in the cockpit followed by a report from a flight attendant that the odor was also present in the cabin. The cockpit crew went on oxygen. The odor remained and the cockpit crew preformed the fumes removal procedure in the QRH. We notified dispatch via ACARS. The odor dissipated in the cockpit and somewhat dissipated in the cabin but after 20 minutes the flight attendant complained the odor was still noticeable and some passengers were complaining of headaches. We attempted to notify dispatch with a phone patch but were unable to contact any operations facility. We were unable to use the phone to dispatch device in the cockpit because it was rendered unusable due to the fumes removal procedure (galley power off). Additionally; we were unable to contact via the commercial radio network. We decided to divert to a nearby airport and ATC cleared us direct; speed at our discretion. We were eventually able to contact company operations at the diversion airport; described the situation and requested them to inform dispatch. Since some passengers were complaining of headaches we requested medical personnel meet the aircraft on arrival. We landed about 20 minutes later without incident. The aircraft was slightly overweight on landing at 171;800 pounds. This was noted in the logbook.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A321 diverted to a nearby airport when possibly caustic fumes were detected in the cabin and flight deck. A complicating factor was inability to communicate reliably with their company for assistance and planning.

Narrative: During cruise both pilots noticed an odor in the cockpit followed by a report from a flight attendant that the odor was also present in the cabin. The cockpit crew went on oxygen. The odor remained and the cockpit crew preformed the fumes removal procedure in the QRH. We notified Dispatch via ACARS. The odor dissipated in the cockpit and somewhat dissipated in the cabin but after 20 minutes the Flight Attendant complained the odor was still noticeable and some passengers were complaining of headaches. We attempted to notify Dispatch with a phone patch but were unable to contact any operations facility. We were unable to use the phone to Dispatch device in the cockpit because it was rendered unusable due to the fumes removal procedure (galley power off). Additionally; we were unable to contact via the commercial radio network. We decided to divert to a nearby airport and ATC cleared us direct; speed at our discretion. We were eventually able to contact Company Operations at the diversion airport; described the situation and requested them to inform Dispatch. Since some passengers were complaining of headaches we requested medical personnel meet the aircraft on arrival. We landed about 20 minutes later without incident. The aircraft was slightly overweight on landing at 171;800 LBS. This was noted in the logbook.

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.