Regional Jet 900 (CRJ900)
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Confusion; Physiological - Other; Troubleshooting
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Flight Crew Diverted; Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition; General Physical Injury / Incapacitation
Aircraft; Human Factors
Aside from a few deferrals there was nothing unusual about the aircraft. We noticed a slight electrical smell. Not unusual; as the avionics cooling fans sometimes make such a smell. In the past when I mentioned that a cooling fan might be going bad; I was advised that 'we don't fix them until they quit working.' I never argued; the cooling fans system has enough redundancy. Also; if you smell something; after a while your sense of smell acclimates to the smell and you no longer smell it even if it does not go away. The takeoff and climb were uneventful. Sometime after 10;000 feet and before FL180; the electrical smell we had smelled earlier on the ground became stronger. The smell was like the smell of overheating bake lite. I asked my FO if she agreed that the smell was getting stronger and she agreed. We called the flight attendants to ask if they smelled anything. One FA said he was a smoker and it would be rare for him to smell anything. The other FA smelled something; but nothing as strong as we described. As we climbed further; the smell got stronger. I mentioned to my FO that I was getting a headache (I never get headaches). She mentioned that her sinuses were really starting to bother her. We felt around the cockpit; trying to find any 'hot spots' in the cockpit; instrument panel; etc. We found nothing unusual that could cause the smell. We thought for a minute and decided diverting was a good idea.I called on frequency; 'Center; possible electrical smoke and fire in the cockpit. Nearest suitable airport; ZZZ looks good.' ATC said; 'Cleared direct ZZZ; descend to (?) thousand feet.' I told my FO; 'I am going on oxygen.' I donned my mask. It was so filthy; I could not see out of it to read the charts for ZZZ. I took the mask off and wiped the mask with a napkin to no use. I looked for a wet-nap; but had just used my last one to clean the head phones. I reached for my club soda and noticed I had not gotten one. I had more important things to do so I would use the mask to grab a 'whiff' of oxygen between tasks. We sent an ACARS message to dispatch. My FO; sprang into action and got all needed information for landing. ATIS; Landing Data; etc. SHE IS A GREAT FO AND DID A GREAT JOB! We advised Flight Attendants and landing in ZZZ. No emergency action was needed on their part; merely to expect that we were landing in ZZZ. My headache would come and go between my whiffs of oxygen. We landed ZZZ without further event. The CFR infrared scan showed no hot spots on the aircraft and we taxied to the gate as the smell subsided.When we were greeted by the gate agent; she said that she noticed the smell the moment she pulled up the jetway. Several passengers mentioned a smell as we deplaned. The local mechanic mentioned that she could definitely smell what we had smelled when she entered the cockpit. We did our damage control with passengers and; eventually; boarded another aircraft and continued to our destination. When we got there; both my FO and I mentioned some strange symptoms we were experiencing. We both mentioned that we had some equilibrium problems. She said that she felt mildly drunk. I found that I had bumped into things (bulkheads; door frames) that I should not have bumped into. I had a low grade headache that persisted for a few hours; then went away. My FO mentioned that her sinuses were bothering her still a day later. It seems that we were too busy with taking care of passengers and then flight duties to stop and give any thought to the possibility that the fumes we had inhaled might have been toxic and might have affected us in some way. Just as a fatigued pilot can be too fatigued to know that he is fatigued; we might; very well; have been too busy or impaired to realize that we were affected or we just accepted that it might not have been that bad after all; when it actually was. I can only speculate at this point. We would not fly another flight that day. A mild headache persisted the next day. I chalkedit off to hydration; food; stress; anything but toxic fumes. Aside from being very busy; everything went smoothly; I credit a lot of that to a really great first officer. I might check my oxygen mask a little more closely in the future; not just test it and check for 100%.
CRJ-900 Captain reported fumes in the flight deck. They elected to divert to the nearest suitable airport.