DC10 crew descends below cleared altitude in ZKC airspace.

Attributes
ACN	409160
Time
Date	199807
Day	Thu
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	atc facility : cap
State Reference	IN
Altitude	msl bound lower : 28600 msl bound upper : 29000
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	artcc : zkc
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	DC-10 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	descent other
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : flight engineer pilot : atp pilot : commercial
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 200 flight time total : 10000 flight time type : 4000
ASRS Report	409160
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : atp
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 200 flight time total : 10000 flight time type : 2000
ASRS Report	408508
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:

Descending from FL330 to FL290. Given frequency change by ATC passing FL300. While changing frequency, autoplt failed to capture altitude. Aircraft descended 420 ft below assigned altitude during recovery maneuver. Autoplt was disconnected and manual pull-up was applied to correct the problem.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: DC10 CREW DSNDS BELOW CLRED ALT IN ZKC AIRSPACE.

Narrative: DSNDING FROM FL330 TO FL290. GIVEN FREQ CHANGE BY ATC PASSING FL300. WHILE CHANGING FREQ, AUTOPLT FAILED TO CAPTURE ALT. ACFT DSNDED 420 FT BELOW ASSIGNED ALT DURING RECOVERY MANEUVER. AUTOPLT WAS DISCONNECTED AND MANUAL PULL-UP WAS APPLIED TO CORRECT THE PROB.

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.