Narrative:

Our flight was uneventful until the descent phase of the flight. During this phase; an initial descent clearance was assigned by ATC. The aircraft was well below the desired descent path so a shallow 1;000 foot/minute descent was commanded. The change in the aircraft pitch prompted the sound of an item rolling; followed by the sound of a collision. A collision loud enough it was suspected damage may have occurred. My first thoughts were a food cart slammed into a galley. Further investigation led the crew to believe that something was loose and moving in the cargo hold. Dispatch and maintenance were consulted by the captain to try to ascertain the contents of the forward cargo hold. What safety latches/barriers were present and what could possibly be moving around unsecured. The crew came to the conclusion that an unknown object was moving freely in the forward cargo pit and damage may or could occur. To minimize the movement of the suspected object; an emergency was declared with ATC. The thoughts were this would ensure appropriate airspace; altitude and aircraft handling would be available to the crew to fly a slow; controlled descent with minimum change in pitch. The use of the entire runway was also coordinated to minimize any braking forces that might cause the movement of the unsecured item. This was accomplished to an uneventful landing and rollout. After clearing the runway; the engines were shutdown for an exterior inspection by local personnel. After the all clear signal; the aircraft was taxied to the gate.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Widebody First Officer reports loose cargo container in the forward cargo pit during descent. An emergency is declared and a normal landing ensues.

Narrative: Our flight was uneventful until the descent phase of the flight. During this phase; an initial descent clearance was assigned by ATC. The aircraft was well below the desired descent path so a shallow 1;000 foot/minute descent was commanded. The change in the aircraft pitch prompted the sound of an item rolling; followed by the sound of a collision. A collision loud enough it was suspected damage may have occurred. My first thoughts were a food cart slammed into a galley. Further investigation led the crew to believe that something was loose and moving in the cargo hold. Dispatch and Maintenance were consulted by the Captain to try to ascertain the contents of the forward cargo hold. What safety latches/barriers were present and what could possibly be moving around unsecured. The crew came to the conclusion that an unknown object was moving freely in the forward cargo pit and damage may or could occur. To minimize the movement of the suspected object; an emergency was declared with ATC. The thoughts were this would ensure appropriate airspace; altitude and aircraft handling would be available to the crew to fly a slow; controlled descent with minimum change in pitch. The use of the entire runway was also coordinated to minimize any braking forces that might cause the movement of the unsecured item. This was accomplished to an uneventful landing and rollout. After clearing the runway; the engines were shutdown for an exterior inspection by local personnel. After the all clear signal; the aircraft was taxied to the gate.

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.