Narrative:

During boarding a musty dry odor was discovered with the APU bleed on and the issue was written up in the maintenance logbook and the cabin odor sheet was completed. Parties were then notified ( dispatch; dsc and the captain spoke with the ZZZ chief pilot); maintenance troubleshooted the issue and ended up deferred pack 1 with the appropriate MEL. After departure and on initial climb out; the same musty odor returned intermittently. The captain made contact with the cabin crew to check on if any unusual odors were present in the cabin- which they did not detect but were also wearing masks for coronavirus. As the climb continued; the captain began to experience physical symptoms consistent with a fume event. The captain asked the first officer if he was experiencing any symptoms and he replied he was. At that time both crewmembers donned their oxygen masks using the 100 percent setting and decided that a return to ZZZ was the safest course of action. ATC was advised of an issue with the air conditioning system and request to return to ZZZ. No emergency was declared (aircraft was controlable; requested altitudes were granted and a pretty much straight course was given on return). The supplementary procedures for elimination of odor/fumes was run however since pack 1 was deferred pack 2 could not be turned off. Descending through 10;000 pack 2 was turned off and the aircraft began depressurizing. The air pack 1 and 2 procedure was followed and the ram air valve began to ventilate the aircraft. Because this event happened on initial climb out and the extra fuel (flight plan had an alternate of ord due to WX in dtw) the overweight landing procedure was followed. The captain landed the aircraft at roughly 153;000 lbs. During taxi in; cockpit windows were opened to help ventilate. After the parking checklist was completed; the fume event and overweight landing were written up in the logbook and the associated cabin odor sheet. After all passengers were deplaned; the flight crew and cabin crew discussed the events that had just happened. The captain notified the chief pilot and then both the captain and first officer contacted medical and followed there directives.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A320 flight crew reported an uneventful precautionary air return due to a fume event during initial climb.

Narrative: During boarding a musty dry odor was discovered with the APU Bleed on and the issue was written up in the maintenance logbook and the cabin odor sheet was completed. Parties were then notified ( dispatch; dsc and the Captain spoke with the ZZZ Chief Pilot); maintenance troubleshooted the issue and ended up deferred PACK 1 with the appropriate MEL. After departure and on initial climb out; the same musty odor returned intermittently. The Captain made contact with the cabin crew to check on if any unusual odors were present in the cabin- which they did not detect but were also wearing masks for coronavirus. As the climb continued; the Captain began to experience physical symptoms consistent with a fume event. The Captain asked the First Officer if he was experiencing any symptoms and he replied he was. At that time both crewmembers donned their oxygen masks using the 100 percent setting and decided that a return to ZZZ was the safest course of action. ATC was advised of an issue with the air conditioning system and request to return to ZZZ. No emergency was declared (aircraft was controlable; requested altitudes were granted and a pretty much straight course was given on return). The supplementary procedures for elimination of odor/fumes was run however since PACK 1 was deferred PACK 2 could not be turned off. Descending through 10;000 PACK 2 was turned off and the aircraft began depressurizing. The AIR PACK 1 and 2 procedure was followed and the RAM Air Valve began to ventilate the aircraft. Because this event happened on initial climb out and the extra fuel (FLT Plan had an alternate of ORD due to WX in DTW) the overweight landing procedure was followed. The Captain landed the aircraft at roughly 153;000 lbs. During taxi in; cockpit windows were opened to help ventilate. After the parking checklist was completed; the fume event and overweight landing were written up in the logbook and the associated cabin odor sheet. After all passengers were deplaned; the flight crew and cabin crew discussed the events that had just happened. The Captain notified the chief pilot and then both the Captain and First Officer contacted Medical and followed there directives.

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.