Narrative:

During cruise; the purser contacted the flightdeck and advised us of the presence of electrical fumes around rows 19 and 20 of the aircraft. The fumes were not present in any other section of the cabin. He stated the fumes had been present for a while and were not diminishing. I contacted maintenance via phone and asked for any input they could offer. The maintenance controller suggested to shut off the ife (in flight entertainment) using the emergency shutoff switch. This was performed by the cabin crew. After approximately 10 minutes; I phoned the purser and was told the fumes had not dissipated and were now moving aft of the original location. Other sources of possible fumes by operating electronic devices were investigated but could not be located. During this time; we were in contact with dispatch via ACARS. We were advised of the weather along our route of flight at possible diversion airports. Based on this information; the first officer and I completed the smoke/fumes/avionics smoke checklist which advised us to land as soon as possible. Dispatch was contacted and the decision was made to divert. The flight attendants were advised and the cabin was prepared for landing. An emergency was declared and we began an immediate descent. We landed and stopped on the runway. The fire department inspected the airplane from the outside using infrared cameras and did not find anything wrong. We then taxied to the gate and were met by ground service personnel.during the descent into the divert airport; a guest had become boisterous and began to say things that caused concern and began to frighten our other guests. It was reported to me by our flight attendants and other guests that the guest in question made verbal comments referring to terrorists and that he believed we were all going to die as a result of the issues with the aircraft that caused us to make a diversion.

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A320 Captain describes a diversion after electrical fumes are detected by the Flight Attendants. Inappropiate passenger behavior is also reported during the diversion.

Narrative: During cruise; the Purser contacted the flightdeck and advised us of the presence of electrical fumes around rows 19 and 20 of the aircraft. The fumes were not present in any other section of the cabin. He stated the fumes had been present for a while and were not diminishing. I contacted Maintenance via phone and asked for any input they could offer. The Maintenance Controller suggested to shut off the IFE (in flight entertainment) using the emergency shutoff switch. This was performed by the cabin crew. After approximately 10 minutes; I phoned the Purser and was told the fumes had not dissipated and were now moving aft of the original location. Other sources of possible fumes by operating electronic devices were investigated but could not be located. During this time; we were in contact with Dispatch via ACARS. We were advised of the weather along our route of flight at possible diversion airports. Based on this information; the First Officer and I completed the Smoke/Fumes/Avionics Smoke checklist which advised us to LAND ASAP. Dispatch was contacted and the decision was made to divert. The flight attendants were advised and the cabin was prepared for landing. An emergency was declared and we began an immediate descent. We landed and stopped on the runway. The Fire Department inspected the airplane from the outside using infrared cameras and did not find anything wrong. We then taxied to the gate and were met by ground service personnel.During the descent into the divert airport; a guest had become boisterous and began to say things that caused concern and began to frighten our other guests. It was reported to me by our flight attendants and other guests that the guest in question made verbal comments referring to terrorists and that he believed we were all going to die as a result of the issues with the aircraft that caused us to make a diversion.

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.