An erj-190 stabilizer lock fault amber annunciator alerted during climb; so after completing the QRH...

Narrative:

On climbout around FL220 we received an amber 'stab lock fault' amber message and the pitch trim indication was replaced by amber dashes. We ran the qrc procedure which stated to 'land at the nearest suitable airport'. Weather had been close to minimums when we left and I knew a nearby major airport had longer runways and better weather; as well as maintenance and better services available. We asked to level off and told ATC we would need to divert for a maintenance issue. We sent a message to dispatch informing them and I informed the flight attendants we would be diverting. ATC declared an emergency and we decided to have the emergency vehicles sent out. On descent into the divert airport the message extinguished; however the amber dashes remained. The first officer and I decided to continue with the diversion. We were given the longest runway and made a normal approach and landing. Upon rollout the stab lock fault returned and we had an associated 'flight control no dsptch' message. We were able to taxi to the gate without assistance or further issue.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An ERJ-190 STAB LOCK FAULT amber annunciator alerted during climb; so after completing the QRH which included the command; LAND AT THE NEAREST SUITABLE AIRPORT; the crew declared an emergency and diverted to a nearby major airport.

Narrative: On climbout around FL220 we received an amber 'Stab Lock Fault' amber message and the pitch trim indication was replaced by amber dashes. We ran the QRC procedure which stated to 'Land at the nearest suitable airport'. Weather had been close to minimums when we left and I knew a nearby major airport had longer runways and better weather; as well as maintenance and better services available. We asked to level off and told ATC we would need to divert for a maintenance issue. We sent a message to Dispatch informing them and I informed the flight attendants we would be diverting. ATC declared an emergency and we decided to have the emergency vehicles sent out. On descent into the divert airport the message extinguished; however the amber dashes remained. The First Officer and I decided to continue with the diversion. We were given the longest runway and made a normal approach and landing. Upon rollout the Stab Lock Fault returned and we had an associated 'FLT Control no DSPTCH' message. We were able to taxi to the gate without assistance or further issue.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.

Attributes
ACN	1141752
Time
Date	201401
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	EMB ERJ 190/195 ER/LR
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Horizontal Stabilizer Control
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Not Flying
Person 2
Function	First Officer Pilot Not Flying
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

An erj-190 stabilizer lock fault amber annunciator alerted during climb; so after completing the QRH which included the command; land at the nearest suitable airport; the crew declared an emergency and diverted to a nearby major airport.