CRJ-200 flight crew reported loss of cabin pressurization during climb.
Synopsis
CRJ-200 flight crew reported loss of cabin pressurization during climb.
Narrative
Flying with the Right PACK deferred. Climbing through about 20;000 feet and exiting icing conditions. The First Officer; pilot flying; turned off the cowl anti-ice and immediately a L PACK HI PRESS caution message showed up. Subsequently; the Left PACK turned itself off; automatically. I; Captain; pilot monitoring; was reaching for the QRH to start the process of getting the Left PACK back on but before I could get to the page in the QRH; a CABIN ALT caution message appeared; and I then started looking for the CABIN ALT QRH procedure. Before I could start that procedure; a CABIN ALT warning message appeared. At that time; I instructed the First Officer to don oxygen. After oxygen donned and communication was established; I started a descent procedure. During the process of the descent QRC; I noticed that oxygen masks had already dropped in the cabin. We [requested priority handling] with ATC and asked for 10;000 feet immediately. Because of the high terrain in the area; we could only get down to 16;000 feet at that time. As soon as ATC could; they got us down to 10;000 feet. While working through QRH procedures; the Flight Attendant called and said she could smell smoke. I asked if she could see any smoke or fumes and she said no but the smell was intense. I completed the QRH procedures and could start smelling smoke in the flight deck; as well. I instructed the First Officer to start a landing procedure as soon as possible and we put our oxygen masks back on. I informed the Flight Attendant and passengers that we would soon be landing back in ZZZ and remain seated. Upon a successful and normal landing on XXR; we came to a complete stop and had Airport Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) come look for smoke. After ARFF inspection and talking to the flight attendant; I decided an evacuation was not required and we would be returning to a gate. No further issues from that moment on. Further inspection; after deplaning; led us to believe that the smoke smell was from the oxygen generators; however; none of us had smelled that before and were unable to recognize it in flight.Cause: Flying with one PACK deferred and a subsequent deactivation of the other PACK with landing elevation set at 6680 feet; left us with minimal time before a cabin altitude issue arose. We did not have enough time to try to troubleshoot the PACK deactivation before cabin pressure was at dangerous levels and we had to abandon attempting to reactivate the PACK and initiate descent procedures. Once at a safe altitude for cabin pressure (10;000 feet); the presence of smoke caused us to expedite a landing procedure.Suggestions: The MEL for the PACK deferral states that if you get a L PACK HI PRESS caution message to proceed to the proper QRH but fails to state how quickly it can turn into a priority situation. I thought I had more time to get the PACK reactivated. I could have also been a touch more proactive and had reviewed the QRH procedures beforehand but felt pressed on time as I arrived at the aircraft about 10 minutes before block out. I believe it would have helped to have the first few steps of the QRH procedure listed on the MEL or to have a note about how little time you may have in such an event. The MEL also only mentions such an event occurring due to bleed swaps; not ANTI-ICE usage.
Second reporter narrative
Climbing through 20;000 feet the pilot flying turned off the cowl anti-ice and immediately received a L PACK HI PRESS message. The R PACK had been deferred before the flight. The L PACK closed as a result; and before the QRH could be performed by the pilot monitoring the CABIN ALT caution message appeared; followed almost immediately by the CABIN ALT warning. The pilot monitoring called for oxygen to be donned; and once communications were established we began a descent. We [requested priority handling] and informed ATC we needed an altitude of 10;000 feet. The pilot monitoring read the descent QRC and we descended to the lowest safe altitude of 16;000 feet due to our proximity to the mountains. The passenger masks had automatically deployed due to cabin altitude. Once the QRC was complete the pilot monitoring performed the QRH for a descent. During the QRH the Flight Attendant informed us that there was a strong smell of smoke in the cabin. There were no visible indications; but out of an abundance of caution we kept our masks on and requested an immediate turn towards the airport and began our procedures for landing. The pilot monitoring informed the flight attendant and passengers that we would be landing soon and to remain seated. A normal and safe landing was performed; and upon stopping Airport Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) met us on the runway to inspect the aircraft for damage or smoke. When neither were found the flight attendant was told no evacuation was required and we would return to the gate. Upon deplaning we believe the smoke smell was from the oxygen generators; but none of us had smelled it before and could not recognize the smell.Cause: The single PACK deferred and subsequent PACK failure resulted in a loss of pressurization. Due to our destination being an airport at high elevation I believe the cabin altitude climbed rapidly despite our altitude only being 20;000 feet. Suggestions: I am certain single PACK operations occur everyday; but the risk associated with flying over mountainous terrain when the single remaining pack failed resulted in us being 'stuck' above 10;000 feet for longer than necessary. This is an operational risk as not only was the entire crew and passengers on oxygen for longer than normal; but the loss of both packs resulted in a very high cabin temperature.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.