B737 flight crew is informed by a flight attendant just after takeoff of smoke in the cabin. A pack ...

Narrative:

During taxi for departure we had the right pack light illuminate. We consulted the QRH and MEL; performed the QRH procedure; and the pack light extinguished. Takeoff roll was normal. As I was about to bring the gear up we both heard the flight attendant chime sound twice. I picked up the interphone and was told there was smoke in the cabin. I told the flight attendants that we were returning immediately. I advised ATC that we were declaring an emergency and had smoke in the cabin. I also advised ATC there could be no delay getting us to the runway. The first officer and I agreed that shutting off the right pack switch as a precaution was a prudent measure considering what had occurred on taxi-out. We ran all normal checklist items prior to landing. Total flight time was 7 minutes. We taxied off the runway and came to a complete stop and asked the flight attendants what the situation in the cabin was. We were told that the smoke was mainly in the aft cabin behind the over wing exits and it dissipated just before we landed. Flight attendants described the odor as both electrical and deice fluid in nature. I asked if the cabin was secure and told them that we were going to taxi to an area to discuss our situation with the aircraft rescue and fire fighters (arff). They performed a thermal imaging scan of the aircraft prior to us taxing to gate. Appropriate pas were made to the passengers during flight and upon landing. At the gate we wrote up the right pack and the smoke in the cabin. The duty manager was contacted and advised of our situation. Maintenance met the aircraft and we briefed them on the situation as well as filled out a maintenance questionnaire. The cpo was contacted. I used my captain's emergency authority through the entire event. Captain was the pilot not flying. The first officer was the pilot flying.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 flight crew is informed by a Flight Attendant just after takeoff of smoke in the cabin. A pack trip had occurred just prior to takeoff and the crew elects to turn this pack off without reference to the QRH. Flight returns to the departure airport and the smoke cleared prior to landing.

Narrative: During taxi for departure we had the right pack light illuminate. We consulted the QRH and MEL; performed the QRH procedure; and the PACK light extinguished. Takeoff roll was normal. As I was about to bring the gear up we both heard the flight attendant chime sound twice. I picked up the interphone and was told there was smoke in the cabin. I told the flight attendants that we were returning immediately. I advised ATC that we were declaring an emergency and had smoke in the cabin. I also advised ATC there could be no delay getting us to the runway. The First Officer and I agreed that shutting off the right PACK switch as a precaution was a prudent measure considering what had occurred on taxi-out. We ran all Normal Checklist items prior to landing. Total flight time was 7 minutes. We taxied off the runway and came to a complete stop and asked the flight attendants what the situation in the cabin was. We were told that the smoke was mainly in the aft cabin behind the over wing exits and it dissipated just before we landed. Flight attendants described the odor as both electrical and deice fluid in nature. I asked if the cabin was secure and told them that we were going to taxi to an area to discuss our situation with the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighters (ARFF). They performed a thermal imaging scan of the aircraft prior to us taxing to gate. Appropriate PAs were made to the passengers during flight and upon landing. At the gate we wrote up the right pack and the smoke in the cabin. The Duty Manager was contacted and advised of our situation. Maintenance met the aircraft and we briefed them on the situation as well as filled out a Maintenance questionnaire. The CPO was contacted. I used my Captain's Emergency Authority through the entire event. Captain was the pilot not flying. The First Officer was the pilot flying.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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	1148539
Time
Date	201402
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Takeoff
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Air Conditioning and Pressurization Pack
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Person 2
Function	First Officer Pilot Flying
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 210 Flight Crew Total 8000 Flight Crew Type 4000
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor

B737 flight crew is informed by a flight attendant just after takeoff of smoke in the cabin. A pack trip had occurred just prior to takeoff and the crew elects to turn this pack off without reference to the QRH. Flight returns to the departure airport and the smoke cleared prior to landing.