37000 Feet

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An A321 flight crew experienced a pungent odor on the flight deck and in the front of the passenger cabin; perhaps associated with heated oil.

Narrative:

Climbing out of 2000-3000 feet or so I experienced a strange odor in the cockpit. It was an odor not unlike dirty socks or a gym bag. I asked the first officer if he smelled something and he said that he did. I remembered reading a article about a dirty sock like smell possibly emanating from overheated oil; picked up by the air conditioning packs on aircraft around the industry. We donned O2 masks and checked the QRH. We contacted the flight attendants and they said the smell was strong in the front and less noticeable in the rear of the cabin. Prior to 10000 feet the first officer tested the cabin air and said it appeared normal. He asked the flight attendants and they said the smell had dissipated. When we reached cruising altitude I checked the maintenance log for any work done recently and found that three or four days earlier the aircraft was written up with apparent toxic fumes in the cockpit. Following our return flight the APU was 'disinfected;' additionally; a B pump had been replaced. The remainder of the flight was odor free.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A321 flight crew experienced a pungent odor on the flight deck and in the front of the passenger cabin; perhaps associated with heated oil.

Narrative: Climbing out of 2000-3000 feet or so I experienced a strange odor in the cockpit. It was an odor not unlike dirty socks or a gym bag. I asked the First Officer if he smelled something and he said that he did. I remembered reading a article about a dirty sock like smell possibly emanating from overheated oil; picked up by the air conditioning packs on aircraft around the industry. We donned O2 masks and checked the QRH. We contacted the Flight Attendants and they said the smell was strong in the front and less noticeable in the rear of the cabin. Prior to 10000 feet the First Officer tested the cabin air and said it appeared normal. He asked the Flight Attendants and they said the smell had dissipated. When we reached cruising altitude I checked the maintenance log for any work done recently and found that three or four days earlier the aircraft was written up with apparent toxic fumes in the cockpit. Following our return flight the APU was 'disinfected;' additionally; a B pump had been replaced. The remainder of the flight was odor free.

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.