B737NG flight crew reported exceeding assigned altitude by three hundred feet caused by turbulence a...

Attributes
ACN	1440099
Time
Date	201704
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Dawn
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737 Next Generation Undifferentiated
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Autothrottle/Speed Control
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Total 9000
Person 2
Function	Pilot Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Total 11800
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Altitude Overshoot Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Speed All Types Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence

Narrative:

The event took place in about 5-10 seconds and everything happened so fast that I am not 100% sure about every event; but I will give my best recollection...the captain was hand flying. As we approached level off at 8000 feet (assigned altitude) during climb out; the FMS speed dropped off; reducing the auto throttle power. I went heads down to try and figure out why the speeds dropped out; then the throttle and FMS speed kicked back in and advanced the throttle. The subtraction and then addition of power caused us to climb to about 8;300 feet. ATC alerted us to the deviation and we returned to 8;000 feet. I think the distraction of having the auto throttles drop out and back on at a critical moment caused us to loose situational awareness. For me personally.... This event emphasizes the importance of 'the big picture'...and don't let a little thing become a big thing. Altitude awareness might be the single most important item to monitor in the cock pit. [During prior employment] I saw hundreds of SOP's for cockpit procedures. One procedure I really liked was an 'approaching' callout when 100 feet from level off altitude. To me this was a last chance callout to bring your attention back to the altimeter. I wish we used this procedure.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737NG flight crew reported exceeding assigned altitude by three hundred feet caused by turbulence and auto thrust malfunction at the time of level off.

Narrative: The event took place in about 5-10 seconds and everything happened so fast that I am not 100% sure about every event; but I will give my best recollection...The Captain was hand flying. As we approached level off at 8000 feet (assigned altitude) during climb out; the FMS speed dropped off; reducing the auto throttle power. I went heads down to try and figure out why the speeds dropped out; then the throttle and FMS speed kicked back in and advanced the throttle. The subtraction and then addition of power caused us to climb to about 8;300 feet. ATC alerted us to the deviation and we returned to 8;000 feet. I think the distraction of having the auto throttles drop out and back on at a critical moment caused us to loose Situational Awareness. For me personally.... this event emphasizes the importance of 'the Big Picture'...and don't let a little thing become a big thing. Altitude awareness might be the single most important item to monitor in the cock pit. [During prior employment] I saw hundreds of SOP's for cockpit procedures. One procedure I really liked was an 'Approaching' callout when 100 feet from level off altitude. To me this was a last chance callout to bring your attention back to the altimeter. I wish we used this procedure.

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.