An MD80 takeoff was rejected at about 20-30 KTS after thick acrid smoke emerged from the overhead ca...

Narrative:

While taxiing from the terminal to runway 25 the captain mentioned smelling something faint in the cockpit. I don't have the best of noses; to me it smelled a bit like a dirty water separator sock. A few minutes elapsed and we were cleared for takeoff. Power was applied and a few seconds later thick; dark; acrid smoke was blowing out from the cargo fire panel on the overhead. An abort was executed at no more than about 20-30 KTS my guess. The smoke continued blowing out from the cargo fire panel until one of its associated circuit breakers popped; it seemed like just a few seconds or so. During the abort; an emergency was declared with the tower; the fire trucks were requested; the first officer window was opened to evacuate the acrid smoke; and we came to a complete stop on the runway. As I was reaching for the fire extinguisher and the QRH one of the circuit breakers popped and the smoke began to dissipate. When it was clear that the smoke had stopped we requested to taxi back to the gate with the fire trucks in tow. The firemen boarded the plane while the passengers were deplaning. We spoke with them for a few minutes about what had happened before they were called out for another company smoke in the cockpit diversion. At no time did I see or smell anything obviously wrong with the airplane until the smoke billowed out from behind the overhead cargo fire panel.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An MD80 takeoff was rejected at about 20-30 KTS after thick acrid smoke emerged from the overhead Cargo Fire Panel. An emergency was declared and the aircraft taxied to the gate with Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting in tow.

Narrative: While taxiing from the terminal to Runway 25 the Captain mentioned smelling something faint in the cockpit. I don't have the best of noses; to me it smelled a bit like a dirty water separator sock. A few minutes elapsed and we were cleared for takeoff. Power was applied and a few seconds later thick; dark; acrid smoke was blowing out from the Cargo Fire panel on the overhead. An abort was executed at no more than about 20-30 KTS my guess. The smoke continued blowing out from the Cargo Fire panel until one of its associated circuit breakers popped; it seemed like just a few seconds or so. During the abort; an emergency was declared with the Tower; the fire trucks were requested; the First Officer window was opened to evacuate the acrid smoke; and we came to a complete stop on the runway. As I was reaching for the fire extinguisher and the QRH one of the circuit breakers popped and the smoke began to dissipate. When it was clear that the smoke had stopped we requested to taxi back to the gate with the fire trucks in tow. The firemen boarded the plane while the passengers were deplaning. We spoke with them for a few minutes about what had happened before they were called out for another Company smoke in the cockpit diversion. At no time did I see or smell anything obviously wrong with the airplane until the smoke billowed out from behind the overhead Cargo Fire panel.

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.

Attributes
ACN	931634
Time
Date	201102
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	MD-80 Series (DC-9-80) Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Takeoff
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Cargo Compartment Fire/Overheat Warning
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Not Flying
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor

An MD80 takeoff was rejected at about 20-30 KTS after thick acrid smoke emerged from the overhead cargo fire panel. An emergency was declared and the aircraft taxied to the gate with airport rescue and fire fighting in tow.