An A320 captain exercised his emergency authority and diverted to an enroute airport after flight at...

Attributes
ACN	894046
Time
Date	201006
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A320
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Instructor
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 200 Flight Crew Total 15000 Flight Crew Type 5000
Events
Anomaly	Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor

Narrative:

Approximately an hour out of our destination; the cabin reported a 'hot' odor in the back of the cabin. We shut down the tv system and my first officer went back to investigate. He noted that the tv box at the suspect row was warmer than the rest. The odor faded quickly. So we continued. Approximately an hour and a half later the cabin reported the smell had returned. I exercised my emergency authority for a precautionary diversion to a nearby airport. I did not declare an emergency however. The approach and landing where hurried but uneventful. Maintenance inspected the aircraft and could not find any problems. As a precaution the tv system was place on placard. I suspect that the smell was associated with a personnel electronic device of some sort. It was also thought that we may have been over weight on landing. That was entered in the book as well. The aircraft was signed off and we continued to our scheduled without further drama.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A320 Captain exercised his emergency authority and diverted to an enroute airport after flight attendants reported a hot odor in the aft cabin but could not identify a specific source.

Narrative: Approximately an hour out of our destination; the cabin reported a 'hot' odor in the back of the cabin. We shut down the TV system and my First Officer went back to investigate. He noted that the TV box at the suspect row was warmer than the rest. The odor faded quickly. So we continued. Approximately an hour and a half later the cabin reported the smell had returned. I exercised my emergency authority for a precautionary diversion to a nearby airport. I did not declare an emergency however. The approach and landing where hurried but uneventful. Maintenance inspected the aircraft and could not find any problems. As a precaution the TV system was place on placard. I suspect that the smell was associated with a personnel electronic device of some sort. It was also thought that we may have been over weight on landing. That was entered in the book as well. The aircraft was signed off and we continued to our scheduled without further drama.

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.

An A320 captain exercised his emergency authority and diverted to an enroute airport after flight attendants reported a hot odor in the aft cabin but could not identify a specific source.