Narrative:

During climb; while conducting the anti-ice test; the crew noticed a burning odor; consistent with an electrical smell. The flight attendant reported the smell concentrated toward the front of the aircraft. After waiting a few minutes; the odor persisted; so the decision was made to [notify ATC] and divert to ZZZ. No visible smoke was detected. Identification: crew detection. Cause: possible electrical abnormality with the windshield heat. After landing; a review of the maintenance logbook showed that the aircraft had been written up for the same issue approximately 3 weeks earlier with no fault found by maintenance. Response: [notified ATC]; aircraft diverted; dispatch and maintenance notified. Suggestion: according to the maintenance logbook; after the previous smoke event; there was no action other than a functional check. I would think it prudent to visually inspect the item in question to check for evidence of burning.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: EMB-145 flight crew reported cabin crew advised of electrical burning smell in forward cabin area during climbout. Flight crew elected to divert.

Narrative: During climb; while conducting the anti-ice test; the crew noticed a burning odor; consistent with an electrical smell. The Flight Attendant reported the smell concentrated toward the front of the aircraft. After waiting a few minutes; the odor persisted; so the decision was made to [notify ATC] and divert to ZZZ. No visible smoke was detected. Identification: crew detection. Cause: possible electrical abnormality with the windshield heat. After landing; a review of the maintenance logbook showed that the aircraft had been written up for the same issue approximately 3 weeks earlier with no fault found by Maintenance. Response: [notified ATC]; aircraft diverted; Dispatch and Maintenance notified. Suggestion: according to the maintenance logbook; after the previous smoke event; there was no action other than a functional check. I would think it prudent to visually inspect the item in question to check for evidence of burning.

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.