Narrative:

I was working flight and had an altitude deviation. The first officer (first officer) was the PF (pilot flying) and I was the pm (pilot monitoring.) the first officer briefed the takeoff; stated the initial altitude; and acknowledged that 5000 feet was set in the altitude pre-select. On the 'before takeoff checklist;' the first officer read the 'FMA set' portion of the checklist; and we confirmed that the FD was displaying toga; as normal. At the beginning of the takeoff roll; the PF advanced the thrust levers; but the auto throttles seemed to lag in engaging; but they did engage. The PF stated 'set thrust'; I looked at the thrust levers; and noticed that the right thrust lever was approx a few centimeters offset from the left thrust lever; but the N1 gages were synched up. I placed my hand on the thrust levers and stated 'thrust set.' we went through the normal takeoff profile with callouts and actions; ('positive rate; gear up; heading.') when the PF called for flch; I pressed the flch button; but flch would not engage. I tried a second time; but it still would not engage. I then tried to activate VNAV; but no vertical modes would engage. The FD was still (and seemed to be stuck) in toga vertical guidance. I tried to troubleshoot the problem. In the process; we received a 'bleed 2 overpressure' caution message; followed by a bleed 2 off advisory message. At that point; we also lost heading select; and altitude pre-select FMA indications; and the autothrottles disengaged. The PF had to continue to hand fly and I told him to continue holding assigned heading and I would troubleshoot the problem. The FD was still displaying toga pitch guidance; of approx 15 degrees nose up pitch. We were distracted with the outlaying loss of FMA indications; and bleed 2 overpressure caution; and climbed through the assigned altitude of 5000 feet. Upon myself and the PF immediately realizing this; I took control of the aircraft; and returned to the assigned altitude of 5000 feet; and relayed our issue to ATC. No other deviations occurred (heading; speed; or otherwise). ATC acknowledged and continued with normal vectors and a subsequent climb to a higher altitude. I maintained on aircraft controls and radios and together we were able to reset and re-engage heading and altitude on the FMA; autothrottles; and engage the autopilot. I remained on the aircraft controls to allow the first officer to run the bleed 2 overpressure caution; and bleed 2 off advisory QRH checklists; which instructed us to reset the bleed 2 system. All systems were restored to normal and the rest of the flight continued uneventful. I subsequently sent a message to maintenance; and contacted control upon landing. We got distracted with the outlaying loss of FMA indications; and bleed 2 overpressure caution; and climbed through the assigned altitude of 5000 feet. I believe the PF was fixated on maintaining heading and airspeed; with autothrottles inactive and no heading guidance on FMA; while the FD was providing toga vertical guidance. Since we lost altitude pre-select indications; the PF likely followed FD vertical toga guidance; temporarily; through the assigned altitude. The pm (myself) was distracted by troubleshooting the problem at the time leading up to the altitude deviation. We both caught the deviation as soon as it happened and promptly corrected. We must keep focused on hand flying with raw data; while pm troubleshoots problems. If the PF has little experience in the aircraft; the pilot with more experience (ca [captain]) should assume flight controls in anticipation that the PF might struggle during non-normal flight events; before possible deviations occur. Do not attempt to troubleshoot non-emergency occurrences during high work load critical phases of flight. Above all; focus on flying the airplane first; then troubleshoot problems when time and workload permits.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: ERJ-175 Captain reported exceeding assigned altitude while troubleshooting aircraft malfunctions.

Narrative: I was working flight and had an altitude deviation. The FO (First Officer) was the PF (Pilot Flying) and I was the PM (Pilot Monitoring.) The FO briefed the takeoff; stated the initial altitude; and acknowledged that 5000 feet was set in the altitude pre-select. On the 'Before Takeoff Checklist;' the FO read the 'FMA Set' portion of the checklist; and we confirmed that the FD was displaying TOGA; as normal. At the beginning of the takeoff roll; the PF advanced the thrust levers; but the auto throttles seemed to lag in engaging; but they did engage. The PF stated 'Set Thrust'; I looked at the thrust levers; and noticed that the right thrust lever was approx a few centimeters offset from the left thrust lever; but the N1 gages were synched up. I placed my hand on the thrust levers and stated 'Thrust Set.' We went through the normal takeoff profile with callouts and actions; ('Positive Rate; Gear Up; Heading.') When the PF called for FLCH; I pressed the FLCH button; but FLCH would not engage. I tried a second time; but it still would not engage. I then tried to activate VNAV; but no vertical modes would engage. The FD was still (and seemed to be stuck) in TOGA vertical guidance. I tried to troubleshoot the problem. In the process; we received a 'BLEED 2 OVERPRESSURE' Caution message; followed by a BLEED 2 OFF Advisory message. At that point; we also lost HDG select; and Altitude pre-select FMA indications; and the autothrottles disengaged. The PF had to continue to hand fly and I told him to continue holding assigned heading and I would troubleshoot the problem. The FD was still displaying TOGA pitch guidance; of approx 15 degrees nose up pitch. We were distracted with the outlaying loss of FMA indications; and BLEED 2 OVERPRESSURE Caution; and climbed through the assigned altitude of 5000 feet. Upon myself and the PF immediately realizing this; I took control of the aircraft; and returned to the assigned altitude of 5000 feet; and relayed our issue to ATC. No other deviations occurred (Heading; speed; or otherwise). ATC acknowledged and continued with normal vectors and a subsequent climb to a higher altitude. I maintained on aircraft controls and radios and together we were able to reset and re-engage HDG and Altitude on the FMA; autothrottles; and engage the autopilot. I remained on the aircraft controls to allow the FO to run the BLEED 2 OVERPRESSURE Caution; and BLEED 2 OFF advisory QRH checklists; which instructed us to reset the bleed 2 system. All systems were restored to normal and the rest of the flight continued uneventful. I subsequently sent a message to maintenance; and contacted Control upon landing. We got distracted with the outlaying loss of FMA indications; and BLEED 2 OVERPRESSURE Caution; and climbed through the assigned altitude of 5000 feet. I believe the PF was fixated on maintaining heading and airspeed; with autothrottles inactive and no heading guidance on FMA; while the FD was providing TOGA vertical guidance. Since we lost altitude pre-select indications; the PF likely followed FD vertical TOGA guidance; temporarily; through the assigned altitude. The PM (myself) was distracted by troubleshooting the problem at the time leading up to the altitude deviation. We both caught the deviation as soon as it happened and promptly corrected. We must keep focused on hand flying with raw data; while PM troubleshoots problems. If the PF has little experience in the aircraft; the pilot with more experience (CA [Captain]) should assume flight controls in anticipation that the PF might struggle during non-normal flight events; before possible deviations occur. Do not attempt to troubleshoot non-emergency occurrences during high work load critical phases of flight. Above all; focus on flying the airplane first; then troubleshoot problems when time and workload permits.

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.