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Aero commander 690 pilot reported an altitude deviation occurred when the autopilot was inadvertently disconnected.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1412163 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201612 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Dusk |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Turbo Commander 690 Series |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Flight Instructor |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 35 Flight Crew Total 25200 Flight Crew Type 6000 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
I was 11 hours into a 12 hour duty day flying single pilot on a positioning leg. The previous three legs had all had some stress due to weather. I was in level flight cruise in VMC on autopilot. I was trying to catch up on paperwork and had the flight log binder propped on the control yoke. I heard the autopilot disconnect warning but it didn't immediately register on my brain. A few seconds later I looked up and the airplane was in a right wing down nose down attitude. I immediately rolled wings level and pitched back up to regain my assigned altitude. The binder had hit the trim switch which disconnected the autopilot and possibly added some nose down trim. The only reason I can think of for not reacting sooner to the autopilot disconnect warning is fatigue. I had had two long days in a row.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Aero Commander 690 pilot reported an altitude deviation occurred when the autopilot was inadvertently disconnected.
Narrative: I was 11 hours into a 12 hour duty day flying single pilot on a positioning leg. The previous three legs had all had some stress due to weather. I was in level flight cruise in VMC on autopilot. I was trying to catch up on paperwork and had the flight log binder propped on the control yoke. I heard the autopilot disconnect warning but it didn't immediately register on my brain. A few seconds later I looked up and the airplane was in a right wing down nose down attitude. I immediately rolled wings level and pitched back up to regain my assigned altitude. The binder had hit the trim switch which disconnected the autopilot and possibly added some nose down trim. The only reason I can think of for not reacting sooner to the autopilot disconnect warning is fatigue. I had had two long days in a row.
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.