<< >> NASA ASRS Report 1308721, November 2015

MD83 flight crew reported returning to departure airport following the loss of both primary heading displays at top of climb.

Attributes
ACN	1308721
Time
Date	201511
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	MD-83
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Positional / Directional Sensing
Person 1
Function	Pilot Not Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Flight Engineer
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 215 Flight Crew Total 15512 Flight Crew Type 9852
Person 2
Function	Pilot Flying First Officer
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

Narrative:

At top of climb we began to experience navigation failure of both captain & first officer primary heading displays. This led to the autopilot disconnecting. Also; we experienced dual map failures on both navigation displays. This resulted in navigating with the standby compass as our only source of aircraft heading. We completed the checklist items for the given situation. The failures were not corrected.we reversed course and asked ATC for a heading back to departure airport. With no navigation displays; no autopilot available; and drifting heading displays we [advised ATC]. No other events to report. We were able to fly ATC assigned headings and get a visual approach for landing.we recorded issues in the aircraft logbook and ended our flight day.

Related reports:

• B757 flight crew reported abnormal engine indications on cli...

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web www.37000feet.com

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MD83 flight crew reported returning to departure airport following the loss of both primary heading displays at top of climb.

Narrative: At top of climb we began to experience navigation failure of both Captain & First Officer primary heading displays. This led to the autopilot disconnecting. Also; we experienced dual map failures on both navigation displays. This resulted in navigating with the standby compass as our only source of aircraft heading. We completed the checklist items for the given situation. The failures were not corrected.We reversed course and asked ATC for a heading back to departure airport. With no navigation displays; no autopilot available; and drifting heading displays we [advised ATC]. No other events to report. We were able to fly ATC assigned headings and get a visual approach for landing.We recorded issues in the aircraft logbook and ended our flight day.

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.