A DC8-55 freighter captain overshoots his assigned altitude while hand flying the aircraft.

Attributes
ACN	429306
Time
Date	199902
Day	Thu
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	atc facility : zse.artcc
State Reference	WA
Altitude	msl bound lower : 25500 msl bound upper : 26000
Environment
Flight Conditions	Mixed
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	artcc : zse.artcc
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	DC-8 50
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Navigation In Use	other vortac
Flight Phase	cruise : enroute altitude change cruise : level descent : intermediate altitude
Route In Use	arrival star : glasr enroute airway : ns.airway
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp pilot : cfi pilot : instrument pilot : multi engine pilot : commercial
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 100 flight time total : 5900 flight time type : 2000
ASRS Report	429306
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : multi engine pilot : commercial
Events
Anomaly	altitude deviation : overshoot non adherence : clearance other anomaly other
Independent Detector	aircraft equipment : altitude alert other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	flight crew : became reoriented flight crew : returned to original clearance
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Flight Crew Human Performance
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

Aircraft was being vectored for sequence into sea, FL310. ATC gave us a heading to fly and a descent clearance to FL290, then cleared us to FL260. Autoplt is a very old model and was very jerky, so I decided to hand fly the aircraft out of FL300. Both the first officer and I had our instruments set for the glcr 3 STAR. Instruments on the first officer's side were good, mine had a flag. The position deviation indicator had been written up several times in previous days, but the write-ups had been cleared. I heard the altitude encoder go off and called '1000 ft to go.' when I looked at the altimeter, we were descending through FL255. Got the aircraft back to FL260, just as ATC cleared us to FL240. The flight was completed without further incident. Obviously, the navigation instrument indications took up too much of my attention. Contributing to this loss of situational awareness on my part were the nonstandard panel layout and instruments in this particular act, as well as the knowledge of previous malfunctions in the recent past. In addition, had I left the autoplt on for descent, I would have had more time to check on the aircraft's flight path, as well as the instruments. This occurrence shows the importance of having a standardized fleet with the same layout and type of instruments on the panel. In addition, flight crew should be extra alert when flying a nonstandard aircraft, and make allowances for a slower-than-normal scan, due to the different cockpit layout.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A DC8-55 FREIGHTER CAPT OVERSHOOTS HIS ASSIGNED ALT WHILE HAND FLYING THE ACFT.

Narrative: ACFT WAS BEING VECTORED FOR SEQUENCE INTO SEA, FL310. ATC GAVE US A HDG TO FLY AND A DSCNT CLRNC TO FL290, THEN CLRED US TO FL260. AUTOPLT IS A VERY OLD MODEL AND WAS VERY JERKY, SO I DECIDED TO HAND FLY THE ACFT OUT OF FL300. BOTH THE FO AND I HAD OUR INSTS SET FOR THE GLCR 3 STAR. INSTS ON THE FO'S SIDE WERE GOOD, MINE HAD A FLAG. THE POS DEV INDICATOR HAD BEEN WRITTEN UP SEVERAL TIMES IN PREVIOUS DAYS, BUT THE WRITE-UPS HAD BEEN CLRED. I HEARD THE ALT ENCODER GO OFF AND CALLED '1000 FT TO GO.' WHEN I LOOKED AT THE ALTIMETER, WE WERE DSNDING THROUGH FL255. GOT THE ACFT BACK TO FL260, JUST AS ATC CLRED US TO FL240. THE FLT WAS COMPLETED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. OBVIOUSLY, THE NAV INST INDICATIONS TOOK UP TOO MUCH OF MY ATTN. CONTRIBUTING TO THIS LOSS OF SITUATIONAL AWARENESS ON MY PART WERE THE NONSTANDARD PANEL LAYOUT AND INSTS IN THIS PARTICULAR ACT, AS WELL AS THE KNOWLEDGE OF PREVIOUS MALFUNCTIONS IN THE RECENT PAST. IN ADDITION, HAD I LEFT THE AUTOPLT ON FOR DSCNT, I WOULD HAVE HAD MORE TIME TO CHK ON THE ACFT'S FLT PATH, AS WELL AS THE INSTS. THIS OCCURRENCE SHOWS THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A STANDARDIZED FLEET WITH THE SAME LAYOUT AND TYPE OF INSTS ON THE PANEL. IN ADDITION, FLC SHOULD BE EXTRA ALERT WHEN FLYING A NONSTANDARD ACFT, AND MAKE ALLOWANCES FOR A SLOWER-THAN-NORMAL SCAN, DUE TO THE DIFFERENT COCKPIT LAYOUT.

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.