What happened
While descending for landing, the crew of an Embraert 175 experienced a loss of communication via the onboard VHF1 radio station lasting approximately 10 minutes. In an attempt to restore contact, the crew utilized the VHF2 radio; however, the signal quality remained poor. To maintain contact with Air Traffic Control, the crew switched the VHF3 radio—typically reserved for ACARS digital communications—into voice mode.
Following the flight, the functionality of both VHF1 and VHF2 returned to normal operations. The crew documented the malfunction in the aircraft technical log and filed an Air Safety Report (ASR). Although a maintenance technician inspected the radios and cleared the fault as resolved, the incident was not captured in the operator's electronic defect tracking system because malfunctions occurring at foreign stations were not being manually transcribed into the digital database.
The investigation
The investigation focused on determining the source of the radio failure and the breakdown in the reporting process. Investigators examined the aircraft's technical logs and the operator's electronic defect registration system. It was noted that while the technical issue was addressed by maintenance, the administrative failure to record the event in the electronic system was due to a lack of transcription for maintenance entries performed by external organizations at foreign airports.
Findings
- The specific cause of the radio failure could not be determined because the malfunction ceased and did not recur in the 30 days following the event.
- A temporary failure of the ground-based communication system was considered a possible contributing factor.
- A failure in the reporting chain occurred because maintenance entries from foreign ports were not being transferred to the operator's electronic defect tracking system.