Narrative:

During departure [procedure] I had a tail compartment temp hi warning light come on while climbing between the altitudes of 17;000 to 23;000 ft. We ran the checklist; and coordinated with ATC. The light extinguished within the 2 minute time allotted in the checklist; and we began to return for landing as required in the checklist. As we climbed through FL180; crested our climb at FL230; and then started back down in our descent we had to change the altimeter between local settings and 29.92; and then back to local settings. There was a brief point when ATC questioned our altitude due to changing these settings; stopping our climb; and beginning to descend while handling this mechanical malfunction and return. Although ATC questioned us on our altitude; I do not believe that ATC had any problem with our altitude; and it did not cause any problems that I am aware of. I declared an emergency due the nature of the mechanical malfunction; called for the rescue trucks to monitor our landing; and set up for an overweight landing. We returned and landed without further problems. The aircraft was taken out of service for maintenance to investigate the mechanical problem further. We received another aircraft and left later to continue our flight.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MD80 Captain experienced a 'Tail Compartment Temp High' warning light passing 17;000 FT during climb. Emergency checklist procedures are effective; after declaring an emergency the flight crew returned to their departure airport.

Narrative: During departure [procedure] I had a Tail Compartment Temp Hi warning light come on while climbing between the altitudes of 17;000 to 23;000 FT. We ran the checklist; and coordinated with ATC. The light extinguished within the 2 minute time allotted in the checklist; and we began to return for landing as required in the checklist. As we climbed through FL180; crested our climb at FL230; and then started back down in our descent we had to change the altimeter between local settings and 29.92; and then back to local settings. There was a brief point when ATC questioned our altitude due to changing these settings; stopping our climb; and beginning to descend while handling this mechanical malfunction and return. Although ATC questioned us on our altitude; I do not believe that ATC had any problem with our altitude; and it did not cause any problems that I am aware of. I declared an emergency due the nature of the mechanical malfunction; called for the rescue trucks to monitor our landing; and set up for an overweight landing. We returned and landed without further problems. The aircraft was taken out of service for maintenance to investigate the mechanical problem further. We received another aircraft and left later to continue our flight.

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.