<< >> NASA ASRS Report 358060, January 1997

Small aircraft training flight cleared to climb to 4000 ft. Student thought 5000 ft, got 4500 ft. Instructor busy taking notes.

Attributes
ACN	358060
Time
Date	199701
Day	Tue
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	airport : mce
State Reference	CA
Altitude	msl bound lower : 4000 msl bound upper : 4500
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	artcc : zoa artcc : ztl
Operator	general aviation : instructional
Make Model Name	Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	climbout : intermediate altitude
Route In Use	enroute : on vectors
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	Other
Function	instruction : instructor
Qualification	pilot : instrument pilot : cfi pilot : atp
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 200 flight time total : 1700 flight time type : 200
ASRS Report	358060
Person 2
Affiliation	Other
Function	instruction : trainee
Events
Anomaly	altitude deviation : overshoot non adherence : clearance
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	flight crew : returned to intended course or assigned course
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

While climbing en route on a vector for V195 my student blew through his assigned altitude of 4000 ft by 500 ft. This occurred because I was taking notes on my student's performance, and I wasn't paying attention to his flying at the time of the altitude deviation. When I realized our altitude was 4500 ft, I promptly descended and asked ATC to verify assigned altitude which was 4000 ft. My student thought our assigned altitude was 5000 ft because he was looking at a previous clearance he had written down on his note pad -- not our new clearance. 2 contributing factors to the deviation are 1) my inattn to my student's flying, and 2) the student's getting the wrong information from a different clearance. The corrective action is obvious. I should have been paying attention, and from now on I have restr my student to 1 clearance per piece of paper to avoid confusion.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: SMA TRAINING FLT CLRED TO CLB TO 4000 FT. STUDENT THOUGHT 5000 FT, GOT 4500 FT. INSTRUCTOR BUSY TAKING NOTES.

Narrative: WHILE CLBING ENRTE ON A VECTOR FOR V195 MY STUDENT BLEW THROUGH HIS ASSIGNED ALT OF 4000 FT BY 500 FT. THIS OCCURRED BECAUSE I WAS TAKING NOTES ON MY STUDENT'S PERFORMANCE, AND I WASN'T PAYING ATTN TO HIS FLYING AT THE TIME OF THE ALTDEV. WHEN I REALIZED OUR ALT WAS 4500 FT, I PROMPTLY DSNDED AND ASKED ATC TO VERIFY ASSIGNED ALT WHICH WAS 4000 FT. MY STUDENT THOUGHT OUR ASSIGNED ALT WAS 5000 FT BECAUSE HE WAS LOOKING AT A PREVIOUS CLRNC HE HAD WRITTEN DOWN ON HIS NOTE PAD -- NOT OUR NEW CLRNC. 2 CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO THE DEV ARE 1) MY INATTN TO MY STUDENT'S FLYING, AND 2) THE STUDENT'S GETTING THE WRONG INFO FROM A DIFFERENT CLRNC. THE CORRECTIVE ACTION IS OBVIOUS. I SHOULD HAVE BEEN PAYING ATTN, AND FROM NOW ON I HAVE RESTR MY STUDENT TO 1 CLRNC PER PIECE OF PAPER TO AVOID CONFUSION.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.