An A320 ECAM alerted hot air valve but the ECAM procedure did not close the hot air valve so the cre...

Narrative:

During climb we experienced a hot air valve ECAM. The ECAM procedure was to turn off the hot air valve to isolate the duct overheat in the system. The switch had no effect on the hot air valve; leaving the system with no protection from the overheat. Maintenance was contacted for further information and input. We talked with dispatch and coordinated a return to the departure airport. Upon leveling off and descending; the valve finally closed on its own. With the overheat isolated; we decided to hold and burn off fuel to the maximum landing weight. During our holding; the hot air valve started opening and closing. With the system uncontrollable and unstable; we decided to descend into the airport. The decision was made to land overweight due to the unknown; uncontrollable; and overheated system. The risk of landing overweight was minimal when compared to the risk of an overheated system in this state. An emergency was declared; and the landing was completed without incident.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A320 ECAM alerted HOT AIR VALVE but the ECAM procedure did not close the HOT AIR VALVE so the crew declared an emergency and returned to the departure airport for an overweight landing.

Narrative: During climb we experienced a hot air valve ECAM. The ECAM procedure was to turn off the hot air valve to isolate the duct overheat in the system. The switch had no effect on the hot air valve; leaving the system with no protection from the overheat. Maintenance was contacted for further information and input. We talked with Dispatch and coordinated a return to the departure airport. Upon leveling off and descending; the valve finally closed on its own. With the overheat isolated; we decided to hold and burn off fuel to the maximum landing weight. During our holding; the hot air valve started opening and closing. With the system uncontrollable and unstable; we decided to descend into the airport. The decision was made to land overweight due to the unknown; uncontrollable; and overheated system. The risk of landing overweight was minimal when compared to the risk of an overheated system in this state. An emergency was declared; and the landing was completed without incident.

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	957336
Time
Date	201107
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A320
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Aircraft Cooling System
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

An A320 ECAM alerted hot air valve but the ECAM procedure did not close the hot air valve so the crew declared an emergency and returned to the departure airport for an overweight landing.