PA28 pilot on an IFR flight plan reports being distracted by a radio problem and allowing his headin...

Attributes
ACN	1099778
Time
Date	201307
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	FAY.TRACON
State Reference	NC
Environment
Flight Conditions	Mixed
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	PA-28 Cherokee/Archer/Dakota/Pillan/Warrior
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Not Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 80 Flight Crew Total 950 Flight Crew Type 75
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Track / Heading All Types

Narrative:

I was flying a friend in the late evening on an IFR flight plan. During my handoff to fayetteville I became overly focused on getting my self setup for the next radio change that I expected and I became slightly disoriented. I lost my heading control by 45-50 degrees. I was experiencing a slight operator induced malfunction in the communication equipment of the aircraft that was quickly resolved and I was overly focused on that issue and my heading suffered. I quickly turned back to re intercept my course and was able to make it to my destination safely. As a low IFR time IFR pilot I was very green to the flight environment. I am currently taking it upon myself to undergo recurrent training to better myself in the IFR environment.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA28 pilot on an IFR flight plan reports being distracted by a radio problem and allowing his heading to drift off course by 45-50 degrees before correcting.

Narrative: I was flying a friend in the late evening on an IFR flight plan. During my handoff to Fayetteville I became overly focused on getting my self setup for the next radio change that I expected and I became slightly disoriented. I lost my heading control by 45-50 degrees. I was experiencing a slight operator induced malfunction in the communication equipment of the aircraft that was quickly resolved and I was overly focused on that issue and my heading suffered. I quickly turned back to re intercept my course and was able to make it to my destination safely. As a low IFR time IFR pilot I was very green to the flight environment. I am currently taking it upon myself to undergo recurrent training to better myself in the IFR environment.

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.