EMB ERJ 145 ER/LR
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Situational Awareness; Training / Qualification; Troubleshooting; Workload
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Maintenance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Flight Crew FLC complied w / Automation / Advisory; Flight Crew Diverted; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action; General Maintenance Action
Procedure; Aircraft
I was acting as the pilot monitoring.  Upon reaching our planned cruise altitude of 37;000 feet the pilot flying accelerated initially to a speed of Mach .70.  All indications were normal at that time; and the items of the cruise checklist were completed but not verbalized. After a short while at cruise; the Spoiler Fail EICAS caution message appeared.  This caution extinguished approximately 5 seconds after it appeared.  At this time the pilot flying and I noticed the spoiler indication was flashing from OPN to CLSD repeatedly. There were not any crew initiated reasons for this to be occurring.  There were also no airspeed; altitude; pitch; or roll deviations at this time. I then proceeded to locate the UNCOMMANDED SPOILER DEPLOYMENT IN FLIGHT QRH checklist.  The checklist verified the caution message we received was applicable to the situation.  This checklist was complied with; dispatch and maintenance were notified; and the required circuit breakers were pulled.  After communicating with dispatch and maintenance control as well as discussing the condition ourselves; we felt we had a 'floating' spoiler causing the indication.  Due to this; and the level of control we had with the airplane; we decided a diversion to a nearby airport would be our best option for landing at the nearest suitable field.  This option provided us with enough time to complete all remaining checklists; get required ATIS and NOTAM information for the divert airport;  complete the diversion report; and make all required notifications to the crew and passengers.After about 20 minutes at cruise a request was made with Center to exit RVSM airspace and change our destination.  We continued our descent to 10;000 feet to burn additional fuel to lighten the landing weight of the aircraft.  We chose to do this because we initially did not know if we would be in an overweight landing situation; as well as to make stopping without the use of spoilers easier on the equipment and lessen the chances of overrunning the runway.  At this time I also pre-emptively ran the overweight landing checklist; just to make sure we covered those items in the case of being overweight.While finishing the QRH for the spoilers we received compensated landing numbers with a 1.35 QRH factor; and determined that we would be lading under structural limits; and that we would have more than the required runway distance for the landing in our divert airport.  The pilot flying and I decided that due to the slight risk of having a loss of control due to a malfunctioning secondary flight control the safest option would be to have ARFF notified to be ready for our arrival.  We were given clearance to descend and proceed direct to the airport.  We were then vectored for a visual approach to runway 32.  Our landing occurred without any incident.  We were able to taxi to the terminal under our own power; where the passengers were removed from the aircraft and taken to the airport terminal.  Upon meeting with maintenance we were informed this tail number has a continued history of this problem.  A post-flight walk around revealed no abnormalities; fluids; or damage.The crew acted in a very calm manner throughout this situation and good CRM procedures were utilized.  Many passengers commented on the fact they felt better about the situation due to the Captain's PA explaining what was happening. The threat that occurred during this flight was an uncommanded spoiler deployment in flight.  The threat was managed by use of the QRH and established procedures for this known situation.  The situation never progressed beyond a threat.  No errors; No undesired aircraft state.I believe the crew acted in an extremely professional and calm manner.  I attribute this to the training and CRM.
An EMB-145 EICAS alerted SPOILER FAIL while at cruise; so the UNCOMMANDED SPOILER DEPLOYMENT IN FLIGHT QRH was completed and the flight diverted to a nearby airport. The aircraft control felt normal but after landing the crew determined this was a repeat anomaly.