EMB ERJ 170/175 ER/LR
Flight Crew Commercial
Distraction; Time Pressure; Workload
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance
Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Flight Crew Inflight Shutdown; Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition; Flight Crew Landed As Precaution; Flight Crew Returned To Clearance; Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification; General Declared Emergency
Aircraft
After departure and during climb we were leveled off a couple of times; then cleared to FL180. Once at FL180; we heard two loud banging noises coming from engine number one. The throttle levers were greater than 15% which disconnected the auto-pilot. The EICAS message read Eng 1 Control Fault. I immediately started working through the QRH with the Captain and; in doing so; climbed 300 feet above our assigned altitude. ATC notified us we were 300 feet high. The Captain advised we were correcting; and once level back at FL 180 the Captain declared an emergency as per the QRH. We were off our assigned altitude no more that two minutes.  I do not think there is a way this situation could have been prevented. The altitude deviation was a direct result of dealing with an in-flight situation just before an emergency was declared.
Crew experienced engine abnormalities; incurred a slight altitude deviation and returned to land.