CRJ-900 flight crew reported smoke and flames from the left windshield heat terminal block in cruise. The flight crew extinguished the fire and continued to destination airport for an uneventful landing.
Synopsis
CRJ-900 flight crew reported smoke and flames from the left windshield heat terminal block in cruise. The flight crew extinguished the fire and continued to destination airport for an uneventful landing.
Narrative
FL280 - 29 minutes to ZZZ - Captain pilot flying - After the Captain finished his approach briefing the L (Captain side) windshield terminal block made a loud popping sound and a flame (~1 - 1.5 inches) came out of it. The fire consumed by itself but as the Captain start to work through the Company [threat mitigation] model the fire sparked for the second time. At this time I asked the Captain if I can turn off the L WINDSHIELD HEAT and after he agreed I turned it off; in addition I reached to the fire extinguisher and waiting to see if the fire will consume if self again but it did not. I handed the fire extinguisher to the Captain and he put out the fire. The cockpit filled up with black smoke so we donned our oxygen masks. At that point the flight attendant (FA) called and the Captain asked me to get with her and see what is the situation in the cabin. After that call the Captain transfer both control and radios to me so he can have all his attention on the situation. Once the smoke dissipated we removed our oxygen masks. The Captain decided that now when the fire is consumed; no damage to the windshield; no cabin pressure is loss and we are 29 minutes from ZZZ there is no need to [request priority handling] and I agreed with his decision. I kept flying the plane while the Captain running QRH and communicate with Dispatch; flight attendants and the passengers. We completed a descent check and transferred control back to the Captain. On the descent and approach the terminal block made popping noise with no smoke or flame 3 times. We had an uneventful landing in ZZZ. After running Shutdown Check we debriefed the flight. Then the Captain called Maintenance; and wrote up the airplane. Shortly after; Maintenance came to meet us and check the airplane.
Second reporter narrative
During cruise flight at 29;000 ft. the terminal block on the left windshield started to spark. It continued to spark at the exact same spot for a few moments off and on. I confirmed that the windshield itself was not compromised; and at this time I assessed my aircraft as a whole to ensure this was not causing any bigger problems. I confirmed that there was nothing out of the ordinary on my EICAS screens; and our pressurization was fine. The problem seemed to lie solely within the terminal block on the windshield. While I was analyzing the situation; my First Officer asked if he could turn off the L windshield heat. I agreed. I then performed the Company model to help mitigate this threat. While I was performing the Company model; eventually all of the heat from the sparks created a small flame about an inch tall. The flame was very weak and small; but we decided to use the fire extinguisher in the flight deck to extinguish it. The small flame was easily and quickly extinguished; but a small amount of smoke began to come from it. After a few seconds; the smoke amount increased to a moderate amount for about 10-20 seconds; and we decided to don oxygen masks. We wore our masks for about a minute; then took them off because the air had cleared. After removing oxygen masks; we finished the Company model and I transferred controls and radios to the First Officer so I could focus on the problem. At this point there was no more smoke; the fire was extinguished; and the sparking seemed to stop. We decided there was no need to [request priority handling]. I had already considered possible icing conditions en route; and diversion airports if needed. We were about to start our initial descent into ZZZ and the situation did not constitute a need to divert to another airport. I ran the QRH for the associated EICAS messages due to turning off the L WINDSHIELD HEAT to ensure I wasn't forgetting anything. After that I notified Dispatch of the situation; and I communicated the situation with the flight attendants and the passengers. During the descent I took back the controls and finished the flight uneventfully. On final approach it did make another popping sound I think 2 more times; and once again after landing; but nothing more. It did not create any more smoke or flames. After running the shutdown check we debriefed the flight and wrote up the aircraft.Mechanical malfunction of the L WINDSHIELD HEAT. During the debrief after it was easier to think; the First Officer and I realized that I should have ran a QRH procedure for SMOKE/FIRE/FUMES.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.