Embraer is working with suppliers and customers to iron out avionics glitches on the E-170/190 that can result in cockpit “no dispatch” nuisance messages on the central warning system causing flight delays.
Several E-170 operators, including Finnair and Indian carrier Paramount Airways, have told Flight International that they still suffer dispatch delays due to the nuisance warnings displayed on the Honeywell avionics suite.
The problems are “being addressed but have not been resolved yet”, says Paramount managing director M Thiagarajan. “Every time we have to...shut down and power up the aircraft before the message disappears. We have had quite a few schedule delays on account of this,” he says.
Embraer airline market vice-president programmes, Mauro Kern, says the manufacturer has taken steps to “improve the robustness of the system to avoid the occurrence of nuisance messages. We have been releasing software updates. It’s much better now and it’s improving. We have new software loads coming up – in December there’s another one.”
According to Kern, the triggering of the nuisance warnings “has a lot to do with the operation...normally during particular phases of power-up”. For example, a crew member unintentionally moving the flying controls before the hydraulic system has been powered up can trigger a “flight controls – no dispatch” warning. Kern says that when this occurs the problem can be resolved in “10 minutes”.
Honeywell says: “We are working very closely with Embraer and the airlines to quickly identify and resolve any operational issues through field support and software updates.”
Source: Flight International
