Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Confusion; Situational Awareness
Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Flight Crew Returned To Departure Airport
Aircraft
On takeoff; I noticed an odor. After takeoff; the odor increased. We called the FAs and they smelled it as well and said that it was strong. It smelled like some type of burning smell. We [notified ATC] and returned to land at ZZZ. Paramedics met the aircraft at the gate as a precaution; but nobody requested any medical attention. The smoke/fire/fumes checklist does not perfectly fit the scenario. As I had dealt with fumes before; I knew that we would only be running a modified checklist. In the checklist; some of the 'yes/no questions' refer to smoke; but not fumes. In a case with invisible fumes or odor; these questions don't apply and it's difficult to tell if fumes have dissipated because the oxygen masks prevent identifying if a smell is still present. Post-flight discussion with maintenance personnel revealed that aircraft had a compressor wash completed prior to the flight.
On departure from ZZZ we noticed an odd burning smell with no identifiable source. We saw no smoke in the cabin. We confirmed with the cabin crew and decided to return to ZZZ. We [notified ATC] and returned to ZZZ after running an amended smoke fire fumes checklist. We landed in ZZZ without incident. Review the smoke fire fumes checklist for some ambiguity.
EMB-175 flight crew reported detecting a 'burning odor' on departure. After completing the QRH procedure; crew executed an uneventful return to departure airport.