Narrative:

On the arrival into the destination area at 6;000 ft; ATC assigned us 190 KTS. Pilot flying (PF) called for flaps 8. Pilot monitoring (pm) selected flaps to 8 and we received an amber caution 'slats fail' message. PF called for corresponding QRH procedure and took over radio duties in addition to PF duties while pm ran QRH. ATC was notified that we had a flight control issue and that we would need delay vectors to troubleshoot the problem with our checklists. QRH procedure did not resolve the problem and slats remained at 0 the entire time. We notified ATC of our flight control malfunction and requested longest runway along with emergency vehicles standing by as an added precaution. At no time did we as the crew declare an emergency; however; ATC began calling us the 'emergency aircraft' over the frequency. Captain then notified the flight attendants of the situation and that we had the situation under control while covering the prepare for emergency items. Captain also calmly notified the passengers of the malfunction and that we would have trucks standing by upon landing only for precautionary reasons and to follow the instructions of the flight attendants. PF made landing with slats 0; flaps at 45 per QRH. Lower than normal pitch angle was experienced as QRH advised. We touched down without event. After clearing runway we advised ATC that we would like airfield rescue and fire fighters (arff) inspect the aircraft for any overheating of the brakes. ATC asked if we were able to continue onto the ramp and we complied. We did not expect any overheat situation as all btms indicators were in the green and not rapidly increasing. A headwind on landing also factored into decreased landing distance and assisted with braking. None of the btms indicators came out of the green and arff confirmed everything looked ok after using thermal imaging on the landing gear. ATC asked if they could secure the emergency after arff had cleared us. We confirmed that everything could be secured and did not require further assistance. We remained parked on the mainline ramp as captain contacted maintenance control. Maintenance advised us not to retract the flaps and to continue to the gate as configured. We followed maintenance instruction. Ramp control asked us per dispatch request if we had signaled the passengers to brace. We told them that we did not require a brace on landing as there was no need and had landed without incident. The flight attendants did a great job with the passengers throughout the event. Upon arrival at the gate; the passengers were happy with how we had controlled the situation and many thanked us as they exited the aircraft. The flight attendants said the passengers remained calm throughout the event. We are unsure as to why the slats did not extend as commanded.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A CRJ-701 EICAS alerted 'SLATS FAIL' during the initial flap extensions for landing so the QRH procedure was complete and the landing accomplished slats zero; flaps 45.

Narrative: On the arrival into the destination area at 6;000 FT; ATC assigned us 190 KTS. Pilot Flying (PF) called for Flaps 8. Pilot Monitoring (PM) selected flaps to 8 and we received an Amber Caution 'Slats Fail' message. PF called for corresponding QRH procedure and took over radio duties in addition to PF duties while PM ran QRH. ATC was notified that we had a flight control issue and that we would need delay vectors to troubleshoot the problem with our checklists. QRH procedure did not resolve the problem and slats remained at 0 the entire time. We notified ATC of our flight control malfunction and requested longest runway along with emergency vehicles standing by as an added precaution. At no time did we as the crew declare an emergency; however; ATC began calling us the 'emergency aircraft' over the frequency. Captain then notified the flight attendants of the situation and that we had the situation under control while covering the prepare for emergency items. Captain also calmly notified the passengers of the malfunction and that we would have trucks standing by upon landing only for precautionary reasons and to follow the instructions of the flight attendants. PF made landing with Slats 0; Flaps at 45 per QRH. Lower than normal pitch angle was experienced as QRH advised. We touched down without event. After clearing runway we advised ATC that we would like Airfield Rescue and Fire Fighters (ARFF) inspect the aircraft for any overheating of the brakes. ATC asked if we were able to continue onto the ramp and we complied. We did not expect any overheat situation as all BTMS indicators were in the green and not rapidly increasing. A headwind on landing also factored into decreased landing distance and assisted with braking. None of the BTMS indicators came out of the green and ARFF confirmed everything looked OK after using thermal imaging on the landing gear. ATC asked if they could secure the emergency after ARFF had cleared us. We confirmed that everything could be secured and did not require further assistance. We remained parked on the mainline ramp as Captain contacted Maintenance Control. Maintenance advised us not to retract the flaps and to continue to the gate as configured. We followed Maintenance instruction. Ramp Control asked us per Dispatch request if we had signaled the passengers to brace. We told them that we did NOT require a brace on landing as there was no need and had landed without incident. The flight attendants did a great job with the passengers throughout the event. Upon arrival at the gate; the passengers were happy with how we had controlled the situation and many thanked us as they exited the aircraft. The flight attendants said the passengers remained calm throughout the event. We are unsure as to why the slats did not extend as commanded.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.