Narrative:

Our ferry flight actually had 3 passengers on board -- a captain; a flight attendant plus an administrative person. Just before level-off at cruise (37;000 ft); the deadheading captain came up front and said there was cabin smoke and would I come back and take a look. In 100% of previous passenger reports of this problem in the summertime with max air conditioning set to full cold (40 degrees fahrenheit); the 'smoke' has been condensation; or fog; coming from the overhead gaspers as it meets the warm cabin air. I looked back; smelled nothing; and saw only the typical condensation from the overhead gasper vents. But I transferred controls to the first officer and went back to check nonetheless. I began to smell something electrical and noted wisps of true smoke in between two of the gasper vents. Also; noting the cabin lights were on; I immediately turned them off; and the smell and smoke dissipated within a few seconds. I elected to continue on to our destination after conferring with the first officer and making sure the passengers agreed as well. But according to our flight operations manual-- which I only thought to consult after landing -- I should have declared an emergency and landed as soon as possible; regardless of whether the smoke source was identified and eliminated. I am usually very by the book; anything but a cowboy pilot; and having endured a house fire as a kid; am very sensitive to fire scenarios; not even allowing candles or open flames of any sort in my own home. Perhaps 1) the apparent case with which the problem was visibly and tacitly solved by turning the cabin lights off; 2) the availability of good weather and ample suitable airports along the route (including the destination; which is a maintenance base and within 30 minutes flying time of when the problem was corrected; and 3) a desire to help the passengers get home all colored my perception and judgment. It was the last workday for both the captain and flight attendant; and the administrative officer was going home to. If I had it to do all over again; I would have declared an emergency and diverted to an enroute airport; both because if the operations manual rule and because it's impossible to tell (without removing the ceiling panels). Whether the smoke/heat source had truly been removed and no longer smoldering. How many dozen of reports had I read attesting to this fact?

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Cessna Citation Captain failed to divert as required by the company procedures after the apparent source of cabin smoke was identified and eliminated.

Narrative: Our ferry flight actually had 3 passengers on board -- a Captain; a Flight Attendant plus an administrative person. Just before level-off at cruise (37;000 FT); the deadheading Captain came up front and said there was cabin smoke and would I come back and take a look. In 100% of previous passenger reports of this problem in the summertime with max air conditioning set to full cold (40 degrees Fahrenheit); the 'smoke' has been condensation; or fog; coming from the overhead gaspers as it meets the warm cabin air. I looked back; smelled nothing; and saw only the typical condensation from the overhead gasper vents. But I transferred controls to the First Officer and went back to check nonetheless. I began to smell something electrical and noted wisps of true smoke in between two of the gasper vents. Also; noting the cabin lights were on; I immediately turned them off; and the smell and smoke dissipated within a few seconds. I elected to continue on to our destination after conferring with the First Officer and making sure the passengers agreed as well. But according to our flight operations manual-- which I only thought to consult after landing -- I should have declared an emergency and landed as soon as possible; regardless of whether the smoke source was identified and eliminated. I am usually very by the book; anything but a cowboy pilot; and having endured a house fire as a kid; am very sensitive to fire scenarios; not even allowing candles or open flames of any sort in my own home. Perhaps 1) the apparent case with which the problem was visibly and tacitly solved by turning the cabin lights off; 2) the availability of good weather and ample suitable airports along the route (including the destination; which is a maintenance base and within 30 minutes flying time of when the problem was corrected; and 3) a desire to help the passengers get home all colored my perception and judgment. It was the last workday for both the Captain and Flight Attendant; and the administrative officer was going home to. If I had it to do all over again; I would have declared an emergency and diverted to an enroute airport; both because if the operations manual rule and because it's impossible to tell (without removing the ceiling panels). Whether the smoke/heat source had truly been removed and no longer smoldering. How many dozen of reports had I read attesting to this fact?

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.