Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Situational Awareness; Distraction; Workload
Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
Flight Crew Landed As Precaution; Flight Crew Returned To Departure Airport; General Physical Injury / Incapacitation; General Maintenance Action; General Flight Cancelled / Delayed
Procedure; Aircraft; Company Policy
Advised by Flight Attendant of fumes in the cabin. I asked two flight attendants to come to the cockpit for more detailed information. All four flight attendants were experiencing the fumes as well as a couple of passengers. The fumes were reported strong in the aft cabin and weak in the forward cabin. No noticeable odors in the cockpit. The fumes were bad enough for at least two of the flight attendants to use supplemental oxygen. This event occurred on climbout out at approximately 6;000 feet. I leveled off at 14;000 feet to access the situation and decided to return. No emergency was declared. The odor remained throughout the divert back where the passengers were deplaned. Landing [was] uneventful. Paramedics took vital signs of 5 of the 6 crewmembers; some of who were experiencing different symptoms. A fumes/odor maintenance form was completed by the Captain.The APU was off. Only the engines were running. There were two maintenance issues resolved away from the gate and prior to takeoff. First issue was an autoflight Yaw Dampner Number 1 and the second item was an inoperative autopilot. If there could be a connection with the hydraulic system; I do not know. I was informed that the aircraft had no prior history of fume events.
During taxi out aircraft stopped at hard stand for approximately 15 minutes for a flight computer issue. On climb out approximately 5 minutes into flight a Flight Attendant received a call from one of aft Flight Attendants regarding cabin odor. Both I and A Flight Attendant were on jumpers; strapped in. I got up and took a few steps into the aisle and noticed the smell of chemicals and fumes. I turned around and told the A Flight Attendant to call Captain and get on oxygen; which I did also. While A Flight Attendant was speaking to Captain on interphone I held up my O2 bottle for aft flight attendants to see and pointed to them. I believe they quickly donned their O2 then. Captain asked me to come to cockpit which I did. He asked me for a situation evaluation and I told him I believed there were fumes in the cabin and described it as a 6 out 10 with 10 being the strongest I had experienced. I told him we were on O2. While we were speaking; B Flight Attendant came to cockpit and said fumes were much stronger in back cabin compared to forward. Captain told us he was going back to ZZZ. We returned to our jumps seats. I asked the female passenger in 1F if she could smell any thing and she said she could. I was feeling some tightness in my chest and a headache and burning throat. It took us approximately 15 minutes to get back to [departure airport] and another 5 [minutes] to land and taxi to gate where we immediately taxied to gate and deplaned passengers. Captain regularly called us during return flight. And taxi to check on situation. Fumes did not abate until we arrived at gate and got Captain ok to open all doors during deplaning which we did. We deplaned right behind passengers and met Flight Attendant Supervisor in jetway. Maintenance people took statement and asked us some questions then we all went for a debrief in break room where EMS came and checked us out. All flight attendants had symptoms including elevated blood pressure; headaches; sore throat; [and] irritated eyes. A Flight Attendant had extremely cold; shaking hands; and teeth numbness. All flight attendants declined hospital visit. Captain planned to go to hospital. My headache worsened and I flew home that afternoon.
An A319 Captain and Flight Attendant reported fumes in the cabin; so with two flight attendants on supplemental oxygen; the flight returned to the departure airport where the aircraft was removed from service.