Narrative:

Climbing out of 20;000 feet the flight attendant (flight attendant) called on the emergency chime signal and as pm (pilot monitoring) I went off radios to answer her call. She notified us there was smoke in the cabin coming from the area above the exit row. I instructed her to move passengers away from the source of the smoke and that we would be returning to ZZZ. I came back to the radio and notified the first officer (first officer) that there was smoke on the cabin and we both agreed to stop the climb and return to ZZZ. I notified ATC; got the climb stopped and got a heading back towards ZZZ. I assigned the controls and radios to the first officer and began working through the smoke cabin emergency QRH. Per the QRH we donned our O2 masks and established communication. I continued the QRH and the first officer continued to fly the aircraft and communicate with ATC. As directed I flipped over to [the appropriate section] and continued running through the QRH. At about this time and descending through 10;000ft I called back to the flight attendant and was told that the smoke had stopped and that she had turned off the overhead lights and used the fire extinguisher. I notified the first officer that the smoke had stopped and at that point he was having trouble seeing with the mask on and the rising sun in his face; and I was having trouble hearing the flight attendant and the radios so we opted to discontinue the use of the O2 masks. With a no-time threat and nearing the approach phase of the arrival we opted to discontinue the remainder of the QRH; and completed a descent check. We also decided to plan on exiting the runway and to not initially evacuate or deplane as the smoke had stopped. On final we got multiple ras because another aircraft was paired up closely with us; but we had visual contact with the aircraft the entire time and continued the approach. The first officer landed the aircraft and I assumed control; taxied it onto a high speed taxiway and clear of the runway. I stopped in front of the fire trucks and set the parking brake. We communicated with the fire department and were notified they would do an exterior inspection. I then opted to leave the flight deck and inspect the source of the smoke. I could see marks where there had been smoke but there was no-longer any smoke coming out. After returning to the flight deck I got the information that the fire department had completed their exterior inspection and we opted to not deplane and taxi on in to the gate. At the gate passengers were deplaned down the ramp and the fire department came on-board and did their inspection. Smoke in cabin likely do to short in lighting system.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: CRJ-200 Captain reported returning to the departure airport due to smoke in the cabin.

Narrative: Climbing out of 20;000 feet the FA (Flight Attendant) called on the emergency chime signal and as PM (Pilot Monitoring) I went off radios to answer her call. She notified us there was smoke in the cabin coming from the area above the exit row. I instructed her to move passengers away from the source of the smoke and that we would be returning to ZZZ. I came back to the radio and notified the FO (First Officer) that there was smoke on the cabin and we both agreed to stop the climb and return to ZZZ. I notified ATC; got the climb stopped and got a heading back towards ZZZ. I assigned the controls and radios to the FO and began working through the smoke cabin emergency QRH. Per the QRH we donned our O2 masks and established communication. I continued the QRH and the FO continued to fly the aircraft and communicate with ATC. As directed I flipped over to [the appropriate section] and continued running through the QRH. At about this time and descending through 10;000ft I called back to the FA and was told that the smoke had stopped and that she had turned off the overhead lights and used the fire extinguisher. I notified the FO that the smoke had stopped and at that point he was having trouble seeing with the mask on and the rising sun in his face; and I was having trouble hearing the FA and the radios so we opted to discontinue the use of the O2 masks. With a no-time threat and nearing the approach phase of the arrival we opted to discontinue the remainder of the QRH; and completed a descent check. We also decided to plan on exiting the runway and to not initially evacuate or deplane as the smoke had stopped. On final we got multiple RAs because another aircraft was paired up closely with us; but we had visual contact with the aircraft the entire time and continued the approach. The FO landed the aircraft and I assumed control; taxied it onto a high speed taxiway and clear of the runway. I stopped in front of the fire trucks and set the parking brake. We communicated with the fire department and were notified they would do an exterior inspection. I then opted to leave the flight deck and inspect the source of the smoke. I could see marks where there had been smoke but there was no-longer any smoke coming out. After returning to the flight deck I got the information that the fire department had completed their exterior inspection and we opted to not deplane and taxi on in to the gate. At the gate passengers were deplaned down the ramp and the fire department came on-board and did their inspection. Smoke in cabin likely do to short in lighting system.

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.