Narrative:

Before we pushed back from the gate; a passenger exited from the lavatory and asked what the burning smell was. I did not smell anything at that time; then I began to smell the burning smell. Burning electrical smell. B-flight attendant called flight deck (FD); the first officer came to the back; he said like stale cigar smoke. I opened up both lavatories; neither were the source. I said I smelled the odor between rows 23-25. The first officer returned to FD; door was shut. I armed my doors; and walked to the front. Demo was completed; but we had to perform the demo again due to new passengers boarded. C-flight attendant commented she had a headache; I said I did; too. I returned to the back and checked my galley. We pushed back. I looked up and saw haze; and it smelled like burning electrical smell; also like 'stale; parmesan cheese'. I got out of my jumpseat; tried to call the forward galley. Grabbed my halon; but since I didn't feel heat; I didn't grab a pbe. I tried to call the front and the FD; no one would answer. I could barely breathe. I finally got hold of the a flight attendant and let him know I was going to pass out if I could not get O2. He told me to go ahead; disarm your door and open the door to get ventilation. Passengers started to stand up; asking if there was a fire. C flight attendant started to come toward me; telling me we're returning to the gate. I felt like I was choking; I could not breathe. Passengers were not panicking; they responded to our directions to remain seated. I knew I could not leave my doors due to them being open.we were checked at the gate by emt's. Blood pressure was 190/92 at gate. My CO2 level was 5.8; C flight attendant was 1.7. My doctor told me that if I had not opened the doors to get O2 it could've been extremely serious.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: During taxi for takeoff; the forward and aft flight attendants detected a strong burning electrical odor with a light white cabin haze so as the aircraft returned to the gate. The Aft Flight Attendant opened the door to prevent herself from passing out. Headaches; light headedness and breathing difficulties were reported with elevated blood pressure and two flight attendants CO level readings of 5.8 and 1.7.

Narrative: Before we pushed back from the gate; a passenger exited from the lavatory and asked what the burning smell was. I did not smell anything at that time; then I began to smell the burning smell. Burning Electrical smell. B-Flight Attendant called flight deck (FD); the First Officer came to the back; he said like stale cigar smoke. I opened up both lavatories; neither were the source. I said I smelled the odor between Rows 23-25. The First Officer returned to FD; door was shut. I armed my doors; and walked to the front. Demo was completed; but we had to perform the demo again due to new passengers boarded. C-Flight Attendant commented she had a headache; I said I did; too. I returned to the back and checked my galley. We pushed back. I looked up and saw haze; and it smelled like burning electrical smell; also like 'stale; Parmesan cheese'. I got out of my jumpseat; tried to call the forward galley. Grabbed my Halon; but since I didn't feel heat; I didn't grab a PBE. I tried to call the front and the FD; no one would answer. I could barely breathe. I finally got hold of the A Flight Attendant and let him know I was going to pass out if I could not get O2. He told me to go ahead; disarm your door and open the door to get ventilation. Passengers started to stand up; asking if there was a fire. C Flight Attendant started to come toward me; telling me we're returning to the gate. I felt like I was choking; I could not breathe. Passengers were not panicking; they responded to our directions to remain seated. I knew I could not leave my doors due to them being open.We were checked at the gate by EMT's. Blood pressure was 190/92 at gate. My CO2 level was 5.8; C Flight Attendant was 1.7. My doctor told me that if I had not opened the doors to get O2 it could've been extremely serious.

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.