A report from the tower advising visible smoke alerted the flight crew of a B737-300 to an emergency...

Attributes
ACN	945820
Time
Date	201104
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	B737-300
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Takeoff
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Door Warning System
Person 1
Function	Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 210 Flight Crew Type 18000
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor

Narrative:

Soon after takeoff; the tower asked if we were okay due to smoke behind our aircraft. At the same time we got a forward cargo door light. All appeared normal and we were pressurizing so the cargo door appeared to be a false alarm. The tower said the smoke stopped soon after it started. We elected to return and land. We asked for emergency vehicles to be dispatched. We also asked them to open the longest runway which was closed. We needed the closed runway due to weighing 3;600 pounds over maximum structural landing weight. They opened the runway in four minutes which was a safer option due to its length. I'm not sure I declared an emergency but it was clear to both parties; due to the smoke; that we had an emergency. I entered an overweight landing in the logbook and had a maintenance inspection.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A report from the Tower advising visible smoke alerted the flight crew of a B737-300 to an emergency and they returned to their departure airport for an overweight landing.

Narrative: Soon after takeoff; the Tower asked if we were okay due to smoke behind our aircraft. At the same time we got a Forward Cargo Door light. All appeared normal and we were pressurizing so the cargo door appeared to be a false alarm. The Tower said the smoke stopped soon after it started. We elected to return and land. We asked for emergency vehicles to be dispatched. We also asked them to open the longest runway which was closed. We needed the closed runway due to weighing 3;600 LBS over maximum structural landing weight. They opened the runway in four minutes which was a safer option due to its length. I'm not sure I declared an emergency but it was clear to both parties; due to the smoke; that we had an emergency. I entered an overweight landing in the logbook and had a maintenance inspection.

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.

A report from the tower advising visible smoke alerted the flight crew of a B737-300 to an emergency and they returned to their departure airport for an overweight landing.