Narrative:

We started both engines at the gate to facilitate a tight right turn. After making the 180 degree turn; I called tower for taxi clearance as directed by clearance delivery. Tower instructed us to hold short (of the movement area) for a metered time to our destination. We were approximately 100 ft or one plane-length from the parking spot. The flight attendant called the flight deck stating that there was smoke in the cabin and he needed to open the door as soon as possible. I relayed this to the captain. It was a hot day; 28 degrees C. After engine start I had selected both air conditioning packs to automatic temperature control; full cold; bleeds max. The cabin acm pack failed during spool up or shortly after. By the time we had finished the after-start checklist and turned off the gate; odor from the air pack was filling the cabin. The captain set the parking brake and shut down both engines. I turned on the emergency lights and turned off both air conditioning packs; bleeds; and AC/dc generators. I then opened the cockpit door and instructed the flight attendant to open the air-stair door. The flight attendant had already turned off the (normal) cabin lighting as a potential source of the smoke. I exited through the air-stair door and checked both sides of the aircraft for sign of smoke or fire. Seeing none; I told the flight attendant to continue and gave the captain a thumbs-up. Station agents were already approaching the aircraft from rear. I informed the agents that we were unloading the passengers here on the ramp and when the station was ready; we would like them to go inside the terminal. A ramp agent chocked the nose wheel tires. While I was outside; the flight attendant was instructing passengers to exit through the air-stair door. A ramp agent and I directed the passengers outside of the left wing-tip. The ramp agents unloaded carry-on bags from the cargo bin and escorted the passengers to the terminal. As the passengers waited outside; the airfield rescue and fire fighter vehicles arrived to inspect the aircraft. Working with a contracted mechanic; we determined the smoke source to be the cabin or number 1 air conditioning pack. In the dhc-8-311; we cycle the air conditioning packs off and on more often then the 102 series. We do this to prevent APU failures on the ground and rapid pressure 'bumps' on initial climb. A program of system inspection might reveal if this practice causes any accelerated wear on the components.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A DHC8-300 cabin air cycle machine failed to spool up when turned ON after engine start and filled the cabin with smoke. The aircraft was evacuated; maintenance MEL'ed the pack and the aircraft continued to its destination.

Narrative: We started both engines at the gate to facilitate a tight right turn. After making the 180 degree turn; I called Tower for taxi clearance as directed by clearance delivery. Tower instructed us to hold short (of the movement area) for a metered time to our destination. We were approximately 100 FT or one plane-length from the parking spot. The Flight Attendant called the flight deck stating that there was smoke in the cabin and he needed to open the door as soon as possible. I relayed this to the Captain. It was a hot day; 28 degrees C. After engine start I had selected both air conditioning packs to automatic temperature control; full cold; bleeds max. The cabin ACM pack failed during spool up or shortly after. By the time we had finished the after-start checklist and turned off the gate; odor from the air pack was filling the cabin. The Captain set the parking brake and shut down both engines. I turned on the emergency lights and turned off both air conditioning packs; bleeds; and AC/DC generators. I then opened the cockpit door and instructed the Flight Attendant to open the air-stair door. The Flight Attendant had already turned off the (normal) cabin lighting as a potential source of the smoke. I exited through the air-stair door and checked both sides of the aircraft for sign of smoke or fire. Seeing none; I told the Flight Attendant to continue and gave the Captain a thumbs-up. Station agents were already approaching the aircraft from rear. I informed the agents that we were unloading the passengers here on the ramp and when the station was ready; we would like them to go inside the terminal. A ramp agent chocked the nose wheel tires. While I was outside; the Flight Attendant was instructing passengers to exit through the air-stair door. A ramp agent and I directed the passengers outside of the left wing-tip. The ramp agents unloaded carry-on bags from the cargo bin and escorted the passengers to the terminal. As the passengers waited outside; the Airfield Rescue and Fire Fighter vehicles arrived to inspect the aircraft. Working with a Contracted Mechanic; we determined the smoke source to be the cabin or number 1 air conditioning pack. In the DHC-8-311; we cycle the air conditioning packs off and on more often then the 102 series. We do this to prevent APU failures on the ground and rapid pressure 'bumps' on initial climb. A program of system inspection might reveal if this practice causes any accelerated wear on the components.

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.