Date: 201908
Local time of day: 1201-1800
Location: ZZZ.Airport, US
Flight conditions: VMC
Light: Daylight
Aircraft: Regional Jet 900 (CRJ900)
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 121
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Passenger
Flight phase: Climb
Airspace: Class A ZZZ
ATC / advisory: Center ZZZ
Aircraft component: Hydraulic Auxiliary/Standby System
Component problem: Malfunctioning
Reporter organization: Air Carrier
Reporter function: First Officer; Pilot Not Flying
Reporter qualification: Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument
Human factors: Situational Awareness
Second reporter function: Captain; Pilot Flying
Anomaly: Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical
Detector: Person Flight Crew
When detected: In-flight
Result: Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition; General Maintenance Action
Contributing factors: Aircraft
Primary problem: Aircraft

Narrative: I was operating as the First Officer on Aircraft X from ZZZ to ZZZ1. We departed from ZZZ normally and while climbing through FL220; a HYD 3 LO PRESS caution message came up on ED1; as well as an IB FLT SPLRS caution message. Captain called for me to run the associated QRH procedure; and took control of the radios while I would run the procedure. Per 9E QRH 4-12; the procedure instructed me to check if HYD SYS 3 had more than 1800 PSI of pressure. At that time; Hydraulic system 3 was fluctuating between 1800 and 2000 PSI. The QRH instructed me to turn on the 3A Hydraulic pump; but as I did; the quantity in Hydraulic system 3 reduced to 0 and the pressure fluctuations continued. I continued to run the QRH procedure. Up as I did; the pressure in Hydraulic system 3 reduced to 0. The temperature readout for hydraulic system 3 during all of this read at 27C. The QRH instructed us to turn off both Hydraulic 3A and 3B pumps off; and to make a Flaps 20 landing at the nearest suitable airport. With this system INOP; we would lose the inboard ground spoilers; hydraulic gear actuation; and nose wheel steering. Once I had completed the QRH procedure; the Captain transferred control of the aircraft and radios to me while he communicated with Dispatch and the [Maintenance Control] through ACARS. He tried multiple times to contact Dispatch through ARINC but was not successful. Dispatch was very prompt with their responses over ACARS so we decided to strictly communicate with them this way while in the air. Dispatch asked if any circuit breakers had been tripped and confirmed that we had run the QRH procedure. We had; and the only circuit breaker tripped was 2M8; which was for the beacon lights. Dispatch then asked if we were ok to continue to ZZZ1. The Captain and I agreed that this was the best course of action as we were only 25 minutes from the airport and they had adequate runway space for us to land. Then; I relayed our souls onboard; 49; and fuel; 6400 lbs; to ATC while the Captain ran through the QRH one more time to double check that we had covered everything in the procedure. He then contacted the flight attendants and made a passenger announcement; informing them that we had a slight malfunction and would need to be towed to the gate after a normal landing in ZZZ1. We then decided that we wanted to land on Runway XXR at ZZZ1 rather than the active Runway XY; due to XXR being much longer; and the possibility of us losing our inboard brakes on landing. The duty pilot asked us if we would be able to vacate the runway using the high speed taxiway; and after receiving our landing numbers and adding the 70% required by the QRH; we determined that we would be able to. As we began our descent into ZZZ1; I gave control the aircraft back to the Captain and I took control of the Radios and PM responsibilities. We requested a long final for XXR so that we could ensure that our landing gear was down and locked in plenty of time before the runway; given that we had to manually extend the gear. We landed on 28R normally and were able to vacate at high speed taxiway B6. We then came to a stop on B; and waited for ARFF to inspect the aircraft. The moment we stopped; the Captain made a PA to the passengers not to be alarmed. Once receiving the all clear; we started the APU; raised the flaps; and shut down the engines. ARFF informed that there was fluid leaking from the aft of the aircraft. Once being released by ARFF; we were towed to the gate and deplaned normally. During the post flight inspection. The line mechanic showed us the manual level indicator for Hydraulic system 3; in the hydraulic service panel; was reading 0. There was also a considerable amount of hydraulic fluid leaking from a panel on the rear of the fuselage; near the hydraulic service panel. We then returned to the flight deck where the Captain made the necessary maintenance write ups as well as discussed with the [Maintenance Control] and duty pilot. Emergency was caused by leakin Hydraulic System 3; leading to a loss of that system and associated systems and components. In my opinion; the crew acted professionally and operated based on Standard Operating Procedure. Captain was a fantastic leader and commanded the aircraft as an exemplary airman. Flight Attendants were professional and did a fantastic job preparing the cabin and ensuring passenger safety and comfort.


Second narrative: On [date] I was operating flight from ZZZ to ZZZ1. We took off at approximately XA40 local time. At around XB00; we were climbing through FL200 to FL 240 when we received a HYD 3 LO PRESS and IB GND SPLRS caution message. I was the Pilot Flying; so I told the FO [First Officer] to run the QRH and that I would handle the radios. The QRH asked if the PSI was below 1800. At that point it was fluctuating from 1800 to 2000 PSI and a few seconds later dropped to zero. The quantity showing was 0%. The QRH called for hydraulic switches 3A/3B to be shut off and required a flaps 20 landing. We lost IB ground spoilers; hydraulic gear actuation; and nose wheel steering. Upon completion of the QRH; I transferred control of the aircraft and the radios to the FO and proceeded to communicate with Dispatch. I sent Dispatch and [Maintenance Control] an ACARS message saying that we lost hydraulic system 3A/3B. They asked if there were any tripped circuit breakers. We found that 2M8 CB which was for the beacon light had tripped and was the only CB that had done so. Dispatch asked if we were OK to continue to ZZZ1; the FO and I were both in mutual agreement that we were OK to continue since the QRH did not call for an immediate landing; and only required we land as soon as practicable. Once we had the game plan figured out with Dispatch; I [notified ATC]; and let them know that we had an issue with our hydraulic system and that it would affect us during landing. We told them to relay to ZZZ that there would be a possibility that we would not be able to clear the runway and we also requested ARFF to be standing by. I then proceeded to talk to the Flight Attendants and advised them of a yellow level emergency. They went through the [checklist] to ensure they had all the information available. I then made an announcement to the passengers that we were about 25 minutes from landing at ZZZ1 and that we had a minor situation with one of our hydraulic systems which as a result would require us to be towed to the gate once we landed. I emphasized that it would be a normal landing to the runway and only our ability to steer the airplane on the ground was the issue. While the FO was flying the airplane; I proceeded to run through the QRH to ensure we covered every step. We planned on using the longer runway 28R as opposed to 32 which was the active runway; since 28L was closed. The duty pilot asked if we could also attempt to clear the runway using rudder pedal input. We used the flaps 20 landing numbers and distance required and planned to be able to exit out on the high speed taxi way. Before starting our descent into ZZZ; I took control of the aircraft and the FO resumed control of the radios and PM [Pilot Monitoring] procedures. We asked for a long final in case there were issues with the manual landing gear extension. We configured the aircraft for landing and landed with no issues on runway XXR. We were also able to get out on the high-speed taxiway. ARFF was standing by and told us they were going to do an inspection. While they did that I made a PA to the passengers so that they would not be alarmed after seeing firetrucks and fire fighters walking around the aircraft. I told them that due to our situation it was protocol for the fire department to do a precautionary inspection of the aircraft; and that once the inspection was complete that we would be towed to the gate. ARFF told us that there was a leak coming from the aft section of the aircraft. We were eventually towed and arrived at the gate and had passengers deplane as normal. We went to do a post flight inspection and there was still a leak coming from just aft of the main landing gear well. I contacted Maintenance and Dispatch to relay our maintenance write ups and debrief with the duty pilot.


Synopsis: CRJ-900 Flight Crew reported loss of #3 Hydraulic Quantity; resulting in loss of systems and an emergency landing.