Narrative:

After departure; I; as the #2 flight attendant; stood up when the sterile cockpit/10000 ft chime went off. As soon as I did; the #4 looked at me along with 2 flight attendants commuting to work and we all smelt a horrible electrical burning smell. I immediately grabbed the aft phone and called the cockpit and said; 'we have something electrical burning back here. I don't see any flames; do you have any indicators?' they advised they would call back. I immediately looked out the portal of the tail cone; searched lavatories; and began running my hands along and opening overhead bins in search of the source. The #4 flight attendant was checking the aft galley. There were call lights going off in the forward part of the aircraft. The #1 picked up the phone and was waving it at me so I got on phone with her and told her what was going on and while we were on the phone; the captain came on and said they had no indicators but he was declaring an emergency and landing. I asked; do you mean a planned emergency landing; and he said yes. I asked if he wanted us to follow the checklist and he said yes. I said to #1; get your manual and do the PA and we would get ready. I told the #4 to get her manual and to go to first class we were doing a planned emergency checklist. I told her she was responsible for first class and the first 1/3 of coach and I was responsible for last 2/3 of coach. I immediately told the commuting flight attendants that if we were incapacitated; to operate our doors; and if not; to operate the windows and they agreed to do so. A dead heading pilot seated went up to first class to assist. We completed the checklist. We did not collect sharp objects; there was no time. I told everyone to remove pins; etc.; from pockets and to place along with eyeglasses in seat back pockets. My eyes and throat were burning. It was hard to breathe and the passengers were tearing and complaining of their eyes burning and their throats. I took my jumpseat and it was very difficult to breathe. I was not sure if I could remain there or if I might have to move to another open seat. I called the cockpit after we landed to advise physical symptoms/problems with crew and passengers. Captain asked me if medical assistance was needed for passengers. I told him I would let him know. I helped with carry ons; etc.; and asked every passenger that passed me if they were ok and I asked if they needed help. Everyone responded by saying they were ok and needed no help. I helped people to get carry ons out and get off the aircraft as soon as possible. The 2 flight attendants commuting complained of nausea; burning of throat and eyes. After debrief with captain; we exited aircraft. We all 3 shared that our eyes; throats; and sinuses were burning. I called the duty manager to report what happened. I told her we were not in condition to work. As the minutes passed; our physical symptoms worsened. I had a severe headache that started during the checklist. My eyes hurt and burned; my throat hurt and burned down into my chest. I began to get a dizzy feeling and very nauseated. My vision was getting blurry. The #2 and #4 were getting worsening symptoms. The next thing we knew; a crowd of emt's were there for us. I first thought they might be there for passengers since I told the captain and agent that passengers; 12-24 approximately; had complained of throat and eye burning. We were all escorted outside to ambulances. #4 and I were put into one ambulance and the #1 into another. We were taken to an emergency room at a hospital. They irrigated my eyes and that of the others. It helped a lot. They gave me some kind of shot for my headache and nausea. We were then given syringes of flushing fluid to flush our eyes two more times that day. We were told to take benedryl for any symptoms and that everything would disappear in a few days; then dismissed. We dead headed home.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MD80 Flight Attendant reports strong electrical fumes as the aircraft climbs through 10;000 feet. The Flight Crew is informed and cabin is prepared for emergency return. Flight Attendant seek medical attention at local emergency room.

Narrative: After departure; I; as the #2 Flight Attendant; stood up when the sterile cockpit/10000 FT chime went off. As soon as I did; the #4 looked at me along with 2 Flight Attendants commuting to work and we all smelt a horrible electrical burning smell. I immediately grabbed the aft phone and called the cockpit and said; 'we have something electrical burning back here. I don't see any flames; do you have any indicators?' They advised they would call back. I immediately looked out the portal of the tail cone; searched lavatories; and began running my hands along and opening overhead bins in search of the source. The #4 Flight Attendant was checking the aft galley. There were call lights going off in the forward part of the aircraft. The #1 picked up the phone and was waving it at me so I got on phone with her and told her what was going on and while we were on the phone; the Captain came on and said they had no indicators but he was declaring an emergency and landing. I asked; do you mean a planned emergency landing; and he said yes. I asked if he wanted us to follow the checklist and he said yes. I said to #1; get your manual and do the PA and we would get ready. I told the #4 to get her manual and to go to first class we were doing a planned emergency checklist. I told her she was responsible for first class and the first 1/3 of coach and I was responsible for last 2/3 of coach. I immediately told the commuting flight attendants that if we were incapacitated; to operate our doors; and if not; to operate the windows and they agreed to do so. A dead heading pilot seated went up to first class to assist. We completed the checklist. We did not collect sharp objects; there was no time. I told everyone to remove pins; etc.; from pockets and to place along with eyeglasses in seat back pockets. My eyes and throat were burning. It was hard to breathe and the passengers were tearing and complaining of their eyes burning and their throats. I took my jumpseat and it was very difficult to breathe. I was not sure if I could remain there or if I might have to move to another open seat. I called the cockpit after we landed to advise physical symptoms/problems with crew and passengers. Captain asked me if medical assistance was needed for passengers. I told him I would let him know. I helped with carry ons; etc.; and asked every passenger that passed me if they were ok and I asked if they needed help. Everyone responded by saying they were ok and needed no help. I helped people to get carry ons out and get off the aircraft as soon as possible. The 2 flight attendants commuting complained of nausea; burning of throat and eyes. After debrief with Captain; we exited aircraft. We all 3 shared that our eyes; throats; and sinuses were burning. I called the Duty Manager to report what happened. I told her we were not in condition to work. As the minutes passed; our physical symptoms worsened. I had a severe headache that started during the checklist. My eyes hurt and burned; my throat hurt and burned down into my chest. I began to get a dizzy feeling and very nauseated. My vision was getting blurry. The #2 and #4 were getting worsening symptoms. The next thing we knew; a crowd of EMT's were there for us. I first thought they might be there for passengers since I told the Captain and agent that passengers; 12-24 approximately; had complained of throat and eye burning. We were all escorted outside to ambulances. #4 and I were put into one ambulance and the #1 into another. We were taken to an emergency room at a hospital. They irrigated my eyes and that of the others. It helped a lot. They gave me some kind of shot for my headache and nausea. We were then given syringes of flushing fluid to flush our eyes two more times that day. We were told to take Benedryl for any symptoms and that everything would disappear in a few days; then dismissed. We dead headed home.

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.