What happened
On 25 May 2016, an Air Canada Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW, registered as C-FHOS, was performing a scheduled flight from Boston/General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport in Massachusetts to Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Ontario. While cruising at flight level 360, roughly 97 nautical miles west-northwest of Boston, a fire ignited within the right integrated control centre, which is situated in the middle avionics compartment.
The flight crew received no prior warning or indication that a fire was occurring. The blaze resulted in the failure of various electrical systems and the loss of most cockpit instrumentation. In response to the electrical issues, the ram air turbine deployed automatically. Despite the complications, the crew managed to restore electrical power to the main buses. The aircraft proceeded to its destination and landed safely with emergency responders on standby. There were no injuries reported, though the aircraft sustained significant damage to the right integrated control centre.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the origin of the fire and the subsequent electrical failures. It was established that the fire was triggered by a fluid contaminant spill that had landed on electronic components within the avionics compartment.