MD80 captain experiences a tail compartment temp high light one minute after takeoff. Emergency proc...

Narrative:

One minute after takeoff we noticed a tail compartment high light. We did the immediate memory items for that and got right into the emergency checklist. We declared an emergency and requested to land immediately. After completing the emergency checklist the light extinguished. It was on for approximately 2-3 minutes. I briefed that it would be an overweight landing. We got the aarf crew discrete frequency; briefed the flight attendants and passengers; completed the landing checklist and landed softly. I exited the runway; stopped the aircraft on the taxiway; communicated with the command chief. He responded with no fire or evidence of overheat. I spoke to the passengers and then taxied to the gate. Just prior to takeoff I had elected to leave the APU running (air switch off) because of my concern that it would not cool down enough prior to takeoff.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MD80 Captain experiences a tail compartment temp high light one minute after takeoff. Emergency procedures cause the light to go out and the flight returns to departure airport for an overweight landing.

Narrative: One minute after takeoff we noticed a tail compartment high light. We did the immediate memory items for that and got right into the emergency checklist. We declared an emergency and requested to land immediately. After completing the emergency checklist the light extinguished. It was on for approximately 2-3 minutes. I briefed that it would be an overweight landing. We got the AARF crew discrete frequency; briefed the flight attendants and passengers; completed the landing checklist and landed softly. I exited the runway; stopped the aircraft on the taxiway; communicated with the Command Chief. He responded with no fire or evidence of overheat. I spoke to the passengers and then taxied to the gate. Just prior to takeoff I had elected to leave the APU running (air switch off) because of my concern that it would not cool down enough prior to takeoff.

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	967222
Time
Date	201108
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.TRACON
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
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	Pneumatic System
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

MD80 captain experiences a tail compartment temp high light one minute after takeoff. Emergency procedures cause the light to go out and the flight returns to departure airport for an overweight landing.