EMB ERJ 145 ER/LR
Troubleshooting; Workload
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical
Flight Crew FLC complied w / Automation / Advisory; Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition; General Declared Emergency; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft
After departure EICAS indicated abnormalities- Autopilot Fail; Yaw Damper Fail; [and] Rudder Sys 1-2 Fail. The Captain was the flying pilot and began to manually fly the airplane. The EICAS messages cleared with the exception of Rudder Sys 1-2 Fail. We ran the QRH for Rudder Sys 1-2 Fail. We notified ATC we were negative RVSM. We reviewed our FOB and determined we had the fuel to continue to our filed destination. We contacted Maintenance Control through ACARS and advised of our situation and our action taken per QRH. Several messages followed between Maintenance Control; Dispatch and us and we began to devise a plan of action.This event underscores the importance of always being prepared for the unexpected. On this day; the weather was clear and the atmosphere was normal. The abnormalities occurred during climb out and unexpectedly. We remained calm and worked together to develop a plan for a successful outcome.
We looked at diverting to airports with little to no cross winds and decided to continue to our filed destination and to request the wind favored Runways (22). We advised Center prior to checking in with the Approach Controller we needed Runway 22 L or R for operational considerations. We declared an emergency and advised the Flight Attendant of the situation and proceeded in for a landing on runway 22R. The landing was uneventful.This is a good reminder to use all available resources- Dispatch; ATC as well as fellow crew members.
An EMB-145 EICAS alerted AUTOPILOT; YAW DAMPER; RUDDER SYS 1 and 2 during climb out so the QRH was completed leaving only RUDDER SYS 2 alerting so an emergency was declared and the flight continued to its filed destination.