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Be-36 pilot reported an altitude excursion and missed ATC handoff due to a pitch trim problem; possibly caused by a frozen trim system.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1535246 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201804 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZSE.ARTCC |
| State Reference | WA |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Bonanza 36 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Elevator Trim System |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 22.8 Flight Crew Total 1045 Flight Crew Type 405.7 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude Deviation - Procedural Clearance Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence |
Narrative:
When leveling at FL190; I engaged the autopilot for altitude hold; went to adjust power settings for cruise. I looked back at the altimeter [and] it showed that I was climbing through FL192. I tried to correct but the controls were unresponsive. By the time that I figured out that my trim was frozen and would not adjust; I was at FL195; so I was off of altitude by 500 feet. I forcefully pushed the yolk forward and I recovered the aircraft to FL190. As soon as I released pressure; the airplane pitched up and started to climb again; as I was trying to diagnose what was going on. The aircraft climbed up to FL195 again. ATC asked about my deviations both times; I advised them that I was having pitch problems and I was trying to resolve them. After approximately 10 minutes; it stopped having the problem and functioned as normal. After landing; I gave the plane to the mechanic and asked him to go through the system. Also; with the high workload during the incident; I missed a hand-off and had to be corrected by another aircraft.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: BE-36 pilot reported an altitude excursion and missed ATC handoff due to a pitch trim problem; possibly caused by a frozen trim system.
Narrative: When leveling at FL190; I engaged the autopilot for altitude hold; went to adjust power settings for cruise. I looked back at the altimeter [and] it showed that I was climbing through FL192. I tried to correct but the controls were unresponsive. By the time that I figured out that my trim was frozen and would not adjust; I was at FL195; so I was off of altitude by 500 feet. I forcefully pushed the yolk forward and I recovered the aircraft to FL190. As soon as I released pressure; the airplane pitched up and started to climb again; as I was trying to diagnose what was going on. The aircraft climbed up to FL195 again. ATC asked about my deviations both times; I advised them that I was having pitch problems and I was trying to resolve them. After approximately 10 minutes; it stopped having the problem and functioned as normal. After landing; I gave the plane to the mechanic and asked him to go through the system. Also; with the high workload during the incident; I missed a hand-off and had to be corrected by another aircraft.
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.