Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition; Flight Crew Returned To Departure Airport; General Declared Emergency
Aircraft
Just after takeoff; on the initial climb at about 2;000 FT we smelled and saw a thick smoke coming from inside the cockpit. I asked the pilot not flying if he felt the same thing and when he answered that he did we started doing the 'smoke in the cockpit' emergency items. After declaring an emergency we returned to [departure] airport where an overweight landing was made. We had also a problem of communication between the pilot flying and the pilot not flying and also the Flight Attendant because the mic on the oxygen mask of the pilot not flying was not working properly. So the pilot flying had to fly the airplane and do the radio communication at the same time. Also we were only able to notify the Flight Attendant about an emergency and that we were returning to the airport but further communications were difficult due to the mic problem. After landing we taxied back to the gate under fire fighters escort. We then deplaned the passenger and a normal shutdown was done. The smoke in the cockpit was at first very thick but slowly dissipated as we were turning on final which made the landing uneventful. Also after landing we tried to get in contact with Operations but were unable to get in touch with them. Training and proficiency of crew member made this emergency very easy to handle. After finding out that the oxygen mask mic of the pilot not flying was not working we immediately came up with other means of communication as for example hand signal and as the smoke cleared up we were lifting our oxygen mask a little bit to be able to communicate.
EMB-145XR First Officer described seeing and smelling thick smoke on initial climb. Flight declared an emergency and returned to departure airport.