Narrative:

Flight was dispatched with an inoperative APU due to an auto-shutdown of the APU during taxi-in on the previous flight. We preformed an engine start at the gate using external air followed by a cross- bleed start. During the walk around; the first officer noted minor ice accumulation on the wings. We elected to have the aircraft de-iced. We taxied to the de-ice pad for deicing. After de-icing was complete we taxied to our runway for takeoff. The 'ECAM status check'; last item before taking the runway; showed [we had] 'aft cargo heat' and 'aft cargo vent' inoperative. We advised ground and taxied north of the runway entrance and contacted maintenance via ACARS. The maintenance controller responded with a recommendation to pull and reset two circuit breakers which cleared the ECAM status page. Once the status page was cleared and all procedures and checklist were complete we taxied to the runway and were cleared for takeoff. The takeoff was normal. I reduced power to climb thrust and was calling for 'flaps up.' we were handed off to departure frequency when we received a master warning light and an ECAM warning of smoke in the aft cargo compartment. I flew the aircraft while the first officer ran the ECAM. At this time; the purser called to advise that we had smoke in the cabin and that all three lavatories fire detectors were flashing indicating fire. Though the first officer and I were aware of the previous APU write up; we elected to treat this as an actual in flight fire and declare an emergency. We notified ATC; donned our O2 masks; and he continued to run aft cargo fire ECAM. ATC gave us vectors to the nearest runway. We continued to receive master warnings and smoke ecams. We specifically chose not to emergency cancel the message; since it gave us an indication that the situation was continuing. The purser called to inform us that it appeared that the smoke was heavier in the rear section of the aircraft. This added to the urgency of the situation. We informed the purser to prepare the cabin with four minutes remaining to touchdown. I was on a base to the runway configuring the aircraft for landing. On final I observed we had full emergency vehicle support on the ground. The first officer and I discussed the need for an evacuation. The outside air temperature was 18 F with about ten inches of snow on the ground. We both suspected that the smoke was caused by the APU oil leak. On short final the first officer called the purser for an update. He informed us that the smoke had diminished considerably. We instructed him to only perform an evacuation if smoke increased or the situation deteriorated. We preformed a smooth overweight landing. The first officer made a 'remain seated' PA announcement. We exited on the high speed and tower handed us off to the fire control frequency. The emergency personal did a full inspection of the aft cargo area that also included thermal imaging. They informed us that the imaging showed only slightly warmer temperatures surrounding that area. We requested an escort to the gate and proceeded. We deplaned the passengers normally.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A320 APU auto shut down on taxi in due to an oil leak. During maintenance troubleshooting leaking oil got into the air conditioning system and caused smoke. The APU was MEL'ed but after takeoff the cabin filled with smoke causing the crew to declare an emergency and return to land.

Narrative: Flight was dispatched with an inoperative APU due to an auto-shutdown of the APU during taxi-in on the previous flight. We preformed an engine start at the gate using external air followed by a cross- bleed start. During the walk around; the First Officer noted minor ice accumulation on the wings. We elected to have the aircraft de-iced. We taxied to the de-ice pad for deicing. After de-icing was complete we taxied to our runway for takeoff. The 'ECAM Status Check'; last item before taking the runway; showed [we had] 'Aft Cargo Heat' and 'Aft Cargo Vent' inoperative. We advised Ground and taxied north of the runway entrance and contacted Maintenance via ACARS. The Maintenance Controller responded with a recommendation to pull and reset two circuit breakers which cleared the ECAM status page. Once the Status page was cleared and all procedures and checklist were complete we taxied to the runway and were cleared for takeoff. The takeoff was normal. I reduced power to climb thrust and was calling for 'FLAPS UP.' We were handed off to Departure frequency when we received a Master Warning light and an ECAM warning of smoke in the aft cargo compartment. I flew the aircraft while the First Officer ran the ECAM. At this time; the Purser called to advise that we had smoke in the cabin and that all three lavatories fire detectors were flashing indicating fire. Though the First Officer and I were aware of the previous APU write up; we elected to treat this as an actual in flight fire and declare an emergency. We notified ATC; donned our O2 masks; and he continued to run AFT CARGO FIRE ECAM. ATC gave us vectors to the nearest runway. We continued to receive Master Warnings and Smoke ECAMS. We specifically chose not to Emergency Cancel the message; since it gave us an indication that the situation was continuing. The Purser called to inform us that it appeared that the smoke was heavier in the rear section of the aircraft. This added to the urgency of the situation. We informed the Purser to prepare the cabin with four minutes remaining to touchdown. I was on a base to the runway configuring the aircraft for landing. On final I observed we had full emergency vehicle support on the ground. The First Officer and I discussed the need for an evacuation. The outside air temperature was 18 F with about ten inches of snow on the ground. We both suspected that the smoke was caused by the APU oil leak. On short final the First Officer called the Purser for an update. He informed us that the smoke had diminished considerably. We instructed him to only perform an evacuation if smoke increased or the situation deteriorated. We preformed a smooth overweight landing. The First Officer made a 'remain seated' PA announcement. We exited on the high speed and Tower handed us off to the Fire Control frequency. The emergency personal did a full inspection of the aft cargo area that also included thermal imaging. They informed us that the imaging showed only slightly warmer temperatures surrounding that area. We requested an escort to the gate and proceeded. We deplaned the passengers normally.

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.