Narrative:

The first officer was flying the aircraft on the...arrival into [destination]. Shortly after beginning initial descent (passing through approximately FL300); mfd 2 failed and went completely blank. A smell of burning (not exactly an electrical fire smell but definitely not normal) was noticed by captain and first officer. There was no visible smoke. First officer continued to operate the aircraft while captain consulted the QRH. There was insufficient guidance for this exact issue in the QRH; so the captain pulled the mfd 2 circuit breaker; at which time the burning smell began to dissipate. The captain did not declare an emergency; but did request direct [to destination] from air traffic control and an immediate descent. As we progressed closer to [destination]; we coordinated; what was essentially; an extended left base for runway 8L. Since the captain had better situational awareness from his side (better visual of airport; and functioning mfd) the flight crew exchanged controls and the captain performed the final approach and landing. Although an emergency was not declared; air traffic control interpreted this situation as an emergency; giving the flight crew priority handling and dispatching airport fire fighters. Several fire trucks were waiting on the parallel taxiway. The landing was uneventful; and the flight crew taxied the aircraft to the scheduled arrival gate; while the fire trucks followed the aircraft. Practice with failed displays in the simulator would be helpful. We practice using reversionary mode only briefly; but that is mainly for a failed pfd or EICAS. It would help with situational awareness and cockpit instrument scan to practice with a failed mfd.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: EMB145 flight crew experienced loss of MFD #2 on arrival and noted burning odor. Odor dissipated after MFD #2 circuit breaker was pulled; ATC provided expedited handling; and Crew landed without incident.

Narrative: The First Officer was flying the aircraft on the...arrival into [destination]. Shortly after beginning initial descent (passing through approximately FL300); MFD 2 failed and went completely blank. A smell of burning (not exactly an electrical fire smell but definitely not normal) was noticed by Captain and First Officer. There was no visible smoke. First Officer continued to operate the aircraft while Captain consulted the QRH. There was insufficient guidance for this exact issue in the QRH; so the Captain pulled the MFD 2 circuit breaker; at which time the burning smell began to dissipate. The Captain did not declare an emergency; but did request direct [to destination] from Air Traffic Control and an immediate descent. As we progressed closer to [destination]; we coordinated; what was essentially; an extended left base for Runway 8L. Since the Captain had better situational awareness from his side (better visual of airport; and functioning MFD) the flight crew exchanged controls and the Captain performed the final approach and landing. Although an emergency was not declared; Air Traffic Control interpreted this situation as an emergency; giving the flight crew priority handling and dispatching Airport Fire Fighters. Several fire trucks were waiting on the parallel taxiway. The landing was uneventful; and the flight crew taxied the aircraft to the scheduled arrival gate; while the fire trucks followed the aircraft. Practice with failed displays in the simulator would be helpful. We practice using reversionary mode only briefly; but that is mainly for a failed PFD or EICAS. It would help with situational awareness and cockpit instrument scan to practice with a failed MFD.

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.