WILJAM FLIGHT TRAINING

Chapter 8.8
EICAS
Introduction
The Engine Indication and Crew Alerting System (EICAS) displays primary engine indications
and also provides a centrally located crew alerting system for non-normal situations. The
system also shows the status of systems not otherwise displayed on the flight deck.
On the ground, EICAS additionally provides maintenance personnel with a variety of system
data.
EICAS Architecture
Two EICAS computers receive inputs from engine and system sensors. The information from
the sensors is displayed on two Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs) as dials and digital readouts of
warnings, cautions and advisory messages.

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The parameters that need to be set and monitored by the flight crew are permanently displayed
on the screen, but the system also monitors the remaining parameters and displays them only if
one or more exceed safe limitations.
A Computer Selector panel determines which computer controls the EICAS. When the selector
is in the AUTO position the left computer is used, and if the left computer fails, control will
automatically switch to the right computer. When the L position is selected only the left
computer can control the EICAS and when the selector is in the R position only the right
computer can control the system. The EICAS computers monitor over 400 inputs through a
comprehensive warning and caution system, to provide a quick and unambiguous identification
of problems as they arise.
The Brightness and Balance Controls are used to adjust the brightness level of both CRTs.
The Event Record Switch is used to store systems data in an EICAS memory for later use by
maintenance personnel. When the switch is pushed, current data from the engine and system
sensors is recorded, and any previously recorded data is erased from the memory.
System lights and a Standby Engine Indicator (SEI) provide backup indications for the CRT
displays.
Engine Displays
The CRT screens are located in the centre of the instrument panel above the throttle pedestal
and are typically displayed as follows:-

Primary engine indications appear on the upper screen.

Secondary Engine Indications appear on the lower screen.

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In the event of an upper or lower CRT failure all engine indications will be automatically
transferred to the other CRT, and the display will appear in a compacted format.

This allows the flight crew to still retain a full capability in the event of a CRT failure, or if the
lower CRT is being used for status displays (or maintenance displays on the ground). In the
compacted mode, the primary engine indications are shown in their normal format, whilst the
secondary information, and oil system indications are shown in a digital format.
Crew Alerting
The crew-alerting portion of EICAS continually monitors all of the aeroplane systems, and if a
fault occurs, or any system fault light illuminates in the cockpit, the EICAS will display a crewalerting message on the upper CRT. In addition to the display messages, some crew alerts are
also indicated by aural tones and Master Warning/Caution lights.
All crew alert messages are divided into one of three categories:Warnings (Level A). These are indicated, in red, and reflect an operational or
aeroplane system condition that requires immediate crew awareness and prompt
corrective action. These are the most urgent types of crew alert, of which an engine fire
is a typical warning.
Cautions (Level B). These are indicated in amber, and reflect an operational or
aeroplane system condition that requires immediate crew awareness and future
compensatory action. These are less urgent than warnings; of which an engine
overheat is a typical caution.

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Advisories (Level C). These are indicated in amber, and reflect an operational or
aeroplane system condition only for crew awareness that requires corrective action on a
time available basis. Advisories are the least urgent type of crew alert. A yaw damper
fault is a typical advisory.
If a parameter goes out of tolerance, an alert, status or maintenance message will automatically
be generated, depending on the urgency of the malfunction.
Master Warning/Caution Light
Two Master Warning Lights illuminate when a warning occurs, and they remain on as long as
the warning exists, or until either Master Warning/Caution reset switch is pressed.
Pushing the reset switch will silence the fire bell and cabin altitude siren, and may also silence
the landing configuration siren, depending on the reason for its activation.
Inhibits
Parts of the crew alerting system are inhibited or deactivated during certain phases of the flight
to prevent distractions, eg. the gear light will illuminate as soon as the landing gear begins to
retract, but the GEAR DISAGREE message is inhibited for 25 seconds to allow their normal
stowage.
Display Messages
Crew alerting messages appear on the upper CRT to indicate all non-normal conditions
detected by EICAS, where up to 11 messages can be displayed. If more than 11 messages are
generated the last message is removed and replaced by a page number. Page 2 can be
displayed by pressing the CANL (CANCEL) switch, and page 1 can be recalled by pressing the
RCL (RECALL) switch.
Some typical examples are shown below.

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Warnings are indicated by red messages at the top of the message list, and are also arranged
according to their urgency, and order of occurrence.
Cautions appear as amber messages below the lowest warning.
Advisories appear below the lowest caution and are also indicated by amber messages. They
are also indented by one space so that they can be distinguished from cautions.
The most recent warning, caution and advisory message appear at the top of its respective
group of messages.
A message is automatically removed from the display when the associated condition no longer
exists, and then all messages that appeared below the deleted message will move up one line.
If a new fault occurs, its associated message is inserted on the appropriate line of the display,
which may cause older messages to move down one line. For example, a new caution message
would cause all existing caution and advisory messages to move down a line.
If there are more messages than can be displayed at one time, the lowest message will be
removed, and a white page number will appear on the lower right side of the message list.
Messages bumped from the bottom of one page will automatically appear on the next page.
The Cancel and Recall switches are used to manipulate the message lists. Pushing the Cancel
Switch will remove the caution and advisory messages from the display.
Warning messages cannot be cancelled.

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If there is an additional page of messages, pushing the Cancel Switch will display the next
page. Warning messages are carried over from the pervious page, and when the last page of
messages is displayed, pushing the switch once more, will remove the last caution and advisory
messages, together with the page number.
Pushing the Recall Switch will display the caution and advisory messages that were removed
with the Cancel Switch if the associated faults still exist. If there is more than one page of
messages, page one will be displayed. A white RECALL message will also appear for about
one second on the lower left side of the message list to indicate that the Recall Switch has been
pushed.
New display messages appear on the page being viewed. For example, if page three is
selected and a new caution occurs, the caution message will appear on page three below any
warning messages. If the Recall Switch is subsequently pushed, the new caution message will
appear as the top caution message on page one.
Multiple display messages of a similar nature are sometimes replaced by a single, more general
display message. For example, if only the forward or aft entry door is open on the left side, a
L FWD ENT DOOR or L AFT ENT DOOR message will appear. If both doors are open, only
a L ENTRY DOORS message will appear.
Status
The status portion of EICAS is used to determine the aeroplanes readiness for dispatch, and if
the STS (Status) Switch is pushed, the status display will appear on the lower CRT, as shown
on the next page.
The status display includes system indicators, flight control position indicators, status messages
and brake temperature indicators.
System indicators will appear in the top left corner of the display, and will show hydraulic
quantity and pressure, APU EGT, RPM and oil quantity; and oxygen pressure.
The flight control positions of the rudder, ailerons and elevators will also appear in the bottom
left corner of the status display.

White, status messages will additionally appear on the right side of the status display. These
messages will indicate any equipment faults that require awareness at dispatch, particularly
those that are not otherwise shown on the flight deck.

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Status messages are arranged by order of occurrence, and the most recent status message will
appear at the top of the list.
A message will be automatically removed from the display when the associated condition no
longer exists, and messages, which appear below the deleted message, will each move up one
line.
If a new status fault occurs, its associated message will be inserted at the top of the list, and all
other messages will move down one line.
If there are more messages than can be displayed at one time, the lowest message will be
removed and a white page number will appear on the lower right side of the message list.
Messages bumped from the bottom on one page will automatically appear on the next page.
If there is an additional page of status messages, pushing the STS (Status) Switch will display
the next page. When the last page of messages is displayed, pushing the switch will remove the
status display from the lower CRT, and will blank the screen.
New status messages will appear at the top of the page being viewed. If the status display is
deselected and subsequently reselected the message list will be reordered, with the newest
status message now appearing at the top of the first page.
A Status Cue will appear in the left upper corner of the lower CRT if a new status message
occurs, whilst the status display is not currently selected, and the aeroplane is in the air. The
cue will disappear if the status page is displayed. Status messages do not need to be checked
in flight; however, they can be useful in anticipating possible ground maintenance actions.
Brake temperature indications will additionally appear on the lower right side of the status
display.
Maintenance
The maintenance portion of the EICAS provides a flight deck display of system data for use by
maintenance personnel. Maintenance displays can only be used on the ground and are
designed to provide flight deck display of maintenance information for the use of flight deck
crew post flight logbook entries and ground crew. For convenience all status messages are
repeated on the Maintenance page, and also any significant information not covered by the alert
messages. Maintenance messages are displayed on the right hand side of the lower CRT by
pressing the ECS/MSG button on the EICAS maintenance panel when the aeroplane is on the
ground.
EICAS Failure Modes
If a CRT fails, status can only be displayed on the ground. If the EICAS Control Panel fails an
EICAS CONT PNL advisory message will be displayed, and the EICAS full up engine mode will
also be automatically displayed. The cancel and Recall Switches will not operate when the
EICAS Control Panel fails. In the event of the failure of both EICAS computers, or both CRTs, a
Standby Engine Indicator (SEI) will be automatically activated. The SEI system lights and
system indicators are used to monitor the engines and system operation if a total EICAS failure
occurs.

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