Date: 201305
Local time of day: 1801-2400
Location: ZZZ.TRACON, US
Flight conditions: IMC
Light: Dusk
Aircraft: Regional Jet 200 ER/LR (CRJ200)
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 121
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Passenger
Flight phase: Climb
Airspace: Class B ZZZ
ATC / advisory: TRACON ZZZ
Aircraft component: Cabin Lighting
Component problem: Malfunctioning
Reporter organization: Air Carrier
Reporter function: Captain; Pilot Not Flying
Reporter qualification: Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Anomaly: Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
Detector: Person Flight Crew
When detected: In-flight
Result: Flight Crew Diverted; Flight Crew Landed As Precaution; General Maintenance Action
Contributing factors: Aircraft
Primary problem: Aircraft

Narrative: Climbing out a 'hot electrical/burning plastic' smell was noticed by the Captain and First Officer.  After searching around the flight deck for a possible source; it was decided that the smell was most noticeable at the ceiling of the coat closet; no smoke was seen.  The Captain contacted the Flight Attendant asking if she noticed anything related to the smell; she did not.  The Captain and First Officer decided to divert.  ATC and the  Dispatcher were contacted and the flight diverted; though an emergency was not declared.  Fire trucks met the aircraft upon landing and they performed an inspection on the taxiway; they did not observe any fires or hot spots.  The aircraft taxied to the gate with a fire truck following as a precaution. At the gate the passengers were deplaned and the firemen did an inspection which only detected a small hot spot behind the First Officer's seat where a large electrical distributor is located.  Mechanics did an inspection of this area and no abnormalities were discovered.  The smell could still be detected faintly though and the search continued. Eventually; the First Officer discovered that one of the light bulbs in the galley overhead panel had a short in it that was causing an arc and smoke. After removing the panel and discussing with the local mechanics and Maintenance Control it was decided that this was the culprit.  The light socket was replaced and the flight continued without further incidence; arriving around 3 hours late.  The short in the light bulb socket caused smoke and arcing in the galley overhead lights.  This caused the smell of electrical smoke in the cockpit that could not be identified by the flight deck crew while in flight.  This put the aircraft in a somewhat rushed operating environment as it diverted.  The pressures of how this diversion would affect the passengers' travel plans and the company's operation were on the Captain's mind.  Thankfully; no errors resulted from these threats and therefore any undesired-states were avoided.  Some pressure was felt by the delay in the operation caused by the replacement of the light bulb fixture; since there is no MEL relief for the galley lighting.  If MEL relief was provided for that; the flight could have continued on much sooner than it did which would have been better for the passengers and flight crew.




Synopsis: CRJ-200 Captain detects an electrical burning smell during climb and elects to divert to a suitable airport.  After some searching; a malfunctioning light socket in the galley is found and replaced allowing the flight to continue to destination.