Narrative:

I was in solid IFR at 14000 ft, staying under the freezing level in a beech king air C90-a equipped with dual king knr 634A navs #1 and #3), king kns-81 RNAV (#2) and IFR certified garmin 155 GPS with #1, #2 and GPS capable of being coupled to the kfc-250 autoplt. Dual HSI's, radio altimeter plus standard dual instrumentation were also installed. Anticipating that it might not be possible to make a VFR approach into horseshoe bay, I instructed my passenger to arrive 30 mins early in case of a diversion to austin. While en route, I determined that the entire area of east and central texas was IFR. So, after being handed off to ZHU north of austin, I requested a change of destination to austin/bergstrom (aus) and received a clearance via direct. Upon receiving a handoff to austin approach, I was told to expect an ILS to runway 17L. I then tuned the #1 navigation, which drives the pilot side HSI, to 110.5 and immediately picked up DME on that frequency to the runway 17L runway, but received no localizer indication on the HSI. I noticed the GS indicator was working correctly showing a full deflection down as I was well above the GS as I approached austin. I quickly switched to the #2 navigation which is the ns-81 and put it into the VOR/ILS mode. I continued to receive good DME and GS indications but no localizer. The #3 navigation drives the copilot side HSI and I turned it to the ILS 110.5 and there was no indication here either. I advised the approach controller of my problem and asked for vectors to the localizer and assistance with directional control since I had good DME and GS. The garmin 155 was an add-on after the airplane was built and mounted vertically on the rear side of the center pedestal. I set it to the austin destination and monitored the inbound bearing and attempted to fly the localizer bearing using this for direction. I used the autoplt during this portion of the approach and set speed and lowered the landing gear when intercepting the GS. However, it is not possible in this airplane to allow the autoplt to track the GPS and still display GS and DME simultaneously, so I split my attention between the HSI and GPS. Possibly due to wind, the controller told me I was going right of course and suggested I abort the approach, which I did. He gave me radar vectors and an altitude to climb to, which I followed, and he asked my intentions. After as quickly as possible analyzing that there was not likely any airport within 200 mi with a ceiling high enough for a non precision approach, I requested vectors for another attempt for runway 17L at austin. Also, one of my passenger had become airsick and thrown up in the waste basket and another had vertigo. There was other airline traffic that the controller was working, so he vectored me out for another attempt and cleared me for the GPS runway 17L approach. Due to the nature of programming in the garmin 155, in order to set up a GPS approach requires several steps. It is ideal for an approach planned well in advance. Due to other traffic and the controller's workload, as well as mine, I didn't have time to set up the GPS into the approach mode and continued to use the raw bearing information for the second attempt. Again I set speed, flaps and gear and set a descent for the GS. The controller advised I was right of course and I made a slight correction left assuming the left quartering crosswind was affecting my ground track. Again he told me I was right of course and I corrected slightly again. Maybe he made a mistake in saying I was to the right of the localizer or maybe I misunderstood and he was saying the localizer was to my right. The published minimum is 469 ft AGL. At about 600 ft AGL on my radar altimeter, which reads out adjacent to my DME, I was in an opening of the clouds and had clear view of the ground. The rain had ended and in-flight visibility was at least 3 mi when clear of the clouds. I reported ground in sight and it took a second or two to realize that the runway was well to my right. I called 'runway in sight' and asked for a landing on runway 35 since I was an estimated 3000 ft to the left of centerline. He said that was not possible and I then agreed to accept runway 17L and he told me to contact the tower. I made a quick right turn and then a left to line up with the runway. The tower cleared me to land and I did so at about the normal touchdown point at normal approach speed on the 9000 ft runway. To the best of my knowledge, I called the runway in sight before I reached published minimums. This is an airport that I have been flying into since it opened as a civilian field and yrs before in the air force. Upon reaching the FBO fuel desk, the attendant was on the phone and asked me if I was flying and I reported I was. She said the tower was on the phone. I talked to a controller in the tower and she said she was concerned about my erratic approach. I explained my triple failure of localizer information and, due to the wide area of IFR WX, elected to make the second attempt from which I landed. I don't recall any further comment, other than she was concerned about my abnormal approach. Under the circumstances, with WX over such a wide area, and the fact that I had excellent visibility after clearing the clouds, I do not feel that I broke any minimums nor did any unsafe maneuvers. I will admit that this was not an ideal situation and one that I would not normally have attempted had there been a suitable alternate within a reasonable distance. Prior to shutting down the aircraft, I retried all 3 navs and found them still giving no left/right needle deflection to the HSI. After my queasy passenger left, I contacted a radio repairman to check out the problem. He was busy and could not leave for 3 hours. In the meantime, I had the aircraft refueled. When the radio man arrived and placed his test transmitter in the aircraft, both #1 and #2 navs gave a full and steady normal deflection. I feel that the 1 hour flight in light to moderate rain created a certain amount of p-static that affected the navigation antennae in the 110.5 MHZ frequency range. When the refueling truck grounded the aircraft, the static electric had dissipated, probably returning the antennae to normal. The repair man also agreed that this was a probable cause. This airplane was repainted 12 months prior to this flight just before flight. I recall one other instance of a momentary loss of localizer signal while passing through a light shower toward a visual intercept to a localizer at mcallen, but thought nothing of it since it lasted only a second or two and the airport was VFR.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A CPR BE9L-E PLT MADE AN ERRATIC APCH TO AUS, CAUSING THE CTLR TO QUESTION HIM UPON LNDG.

Narrative: I WAS IN SOLID IFR AT 14000 FT, STAYING UNDER THE FREEZING LEVEL IN A BEECH KING AIR C90-A EQUIPPED WITH DUAL KING KNR 634A NAVS #1 AND #3), KING KNS-81 RNAV (#2) AND IFR CERTIFIED GARMIN 155 GPS WITH #1, #2 AND GPS CAPABLE OF BEING COUPLED TO THE KFC-250 AUTOPLT. DUAL HSI'S, RADIO ALTIMETER PLUS STANDARD DUAL INSTRUMENTATION WERE ALSO INSTALLED. ANTICIPATING THAT IT MIGHT NOT BE POSSIBLE TO MAKE A VFR APCH INTO HORSESHOE BAY, I INSTRUCTED MY PAX TO ARRIVE 30 MINS EARLY IN CASE OF A DIVERSION TO AUSTIN. WHILE ENRTE, I DETERMINED THAT THE ENTIRE AREA OF EAST AND CENTRAL TEXAS WAS IFR. SO, AFTER BEING HANDED OFF TO ZHU N OF AUSTIN, I REQUESTED A CHANGE OF DEST TO AUSTIN/BERGSTROM (AUS) AND RECEIVED A CLRNC VIA DIRECT. UPON RECEIVING A HDOF TO AUSTIN APCH, I WAS TOLD TO EXPECT AN ILS TO RWY 17L. I THEN TUNED THE #1 NAV, WHICH DRIVES THE PLT SIDE HSI, TO 110.5 AND IMMEDIATELY PICKED UP DME ON THAT FREQ TO THE RWY 17L RWY, BUT RECEIVED NO LOC INDICATION ON THE HSI. I NOTICED THE GS INDICATOR WAS WORKING CORRECTLY SHOWING A FULL DEFLECTION DOWN AS I WAS WELL ABOVE THE GS AS I APCHED AUSTIN. I QUICKLY SWITCHED TO THE #2 NAV WHICH IS THE NS-81 AND PUT IT INTO THE VOR/ILS MODE. I CONTINUED TO RECEIVE GOOD DME AND GS INDICATIONS BUT NO LOC. THE #3 NAV DRIVES THE COPLT SIDE HSI AND I TURNED IT TO THE ILS 110.5 AND THERE WAS NO INDICATION HERE EITHER. I ADVISED THE APCH CTLR OF MY PROB AND ASKED FOR VECTORS TO THE LOC AND ASSISTANCE WITH DIRECTIONAL CTL SINCE I HAD GOOD DME AND GS. THE GARMIN 155 WAS AN ADD-ON AFTER THE AIRPLANE WAS BUILT AND MOUNTED VERTLY ON THE REAR SIDE OF THE CTR PEDESTAL. I SET IT TO THE AUSTIN DEST AND MONITORED THE INBOUND BEARING AND ATTEMPTED TO FLY THE LOC BEARING USING THIS FOR DIRECTION. I USED THE AUTOPLT DURING THIS PORTION OF THE APCH AND SET SPD AND LOWERED THE LNDG GEAR WHEN INTERCEPTING THE GS. HOWEVER, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE IN THIS AIRPLANE TO ALLOW THE AUTOPLT TO TRACK THE GPS AND STILL DISPLAY GS AND DME SIMULTANEOUSLY, SO I SPLIT MY ATTN BTWN THE HSI AND GPS. POSSIBLY DUE TO WIND, THE CTLR TOLD ME I WAS GOING R OF COURSE AND SUGGESTED I ABORT THE APCH, WHICH I DID. HE GAVE ME RADAR VECTORS AND AN ALT TO CLB TO, WHICH I FOLLOWED, AND HE ASKED MY INTENTIONS. AFTER AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE ANALYZING THAT THERE WAS NOT LIKELY ANY ARPT WITHIN 200 MI WITH A CEILING HIGH ENOUGH FOR A NON PRECISION APCH, I REQUESTED VECTORS FOR ANOTHER ATTEMPT FOR RWY 17L AT AUSTIN. ALSO, ONE OF MY PAX HAD BECOME AIRSICK AND THROWN UP IN THE WASTE BASKET AND ANOTHER HAD VERTIGO. THERE WAS OTHER AIRLINE TFC THAT THE CTLR WAS WORKING, SO HE VECTORED ME OUT FOR ANOTHER ATTEMPT AND CLRED ME FOR THE GPS RWY 17L APCH. DUE TO THE NATURE OF PROGRAMMING IN THE GARMIN 155, IN ORDER TO SET UP A GPS APCH REQUIRES SEVERAL STEPS. IT IS IDEAL FOR AN APCH PLANNED WELL IN ADVANCE. DUE TO OTHER TFC AND THE CTLR'S WORKLOAD, AS WELL AS MINE, I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO SET UP THE GPS INTO THE APCH MODE AND CONTINUED TO USE THE RAW BEARING INFO FOR THE SECOND ATTEMPT. AGAIN I SET SPD, FLAPS AND GEAR AND SET A DSCNT FOR THE GS. THE CTLR ADVISED I WAS R OF COURSE AND I MADE A SLIGHT CORRECTION L ASSUMING THE L QUARTERING XWIND WAS AFFECTING MY GND TRACK. AGAIN HE TOLD ME I WAS R OF COURSE AND I CORRECTED SLIGHTLY AGAIN. MAYBE HE MADE A MISTAKE IN SAYING I WAS TO THE R OF THE LOC OR MAYBE I MISUNDERSTOOD AND HE WAS SAYING THE LOC WAS TO MY R. THE PUBLISHED MINIMUM IS 469 FT AGL. AT ABOUT 600 FT AGL ON MY RADAR ALTIMETER, WHICH READS OUT ADJACENT TO MY DME, I WAS IN AN OPENING OF THE CLOUDS AND HAD CLR VIEW OF THE GND. THE RAIN HAD ENDED AND INFLT VISIBILITY WAS AT LEAST 3 MI WHEN CLR OF THE CLOUDS. I RPTED GND IN SIGHT AND IT TOOK A SECOND OR TWO TO REALIZE THAT THE RWY WAS WELL TO MY R. I CALLED 'RWY IN SIGHT' AND ASKED FOR A LNDG ON RWY 35 SINCE I WAS AN ESTIMATED 3000 FT TO THE L OF CTRLINE. HE SAID THAT WAS NOT POSSIBLE AND I THEN AGREED TO ACCEPT RWY 17L AND HE TOLD ME TO CONTACT THE TWR. I MADE A QUICK R TURN AND THEN A L TO LINE UP WITH THE RWY. THE TWR CLRED ME TO LAND AND I DID SO AT ABOUT THE NORMAL TOUCHDOWN POINT AT NORMAL APCH SPD ON THE 9000 FT RWY. TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE, I CALLED THE RWY IN SIGHT BEFORE I REACHED PUBLISHED MINIMUMS. THIS IS AN ARPT THAT I HAVE BEEN FLYING INTO SINCE IT OPENED AS A CIVILIAN FIELD AND YRS BEFORE IN THE AIR FORCE. UPON REACHING THE FBO FUEL DESK, THE ATTENDANT WAS ON THE PHONE AND ASKED ME IF I WAS FLYING AND I RPTED I WAS. SHE SAID THE TWR WAS ON THE PHONE. I TALKED TO A CTLR IN THE TWR AND SHE SAID SHE WAS CONCERNED ABOUT MY ERRATIC APCH. I EXPLAINED MY TRIPLE FAILURE OF LOC INFO AND, DUE TO THE WIDE AREA OF IFR WX, ELECTED TO MAKE THE SECOND ATTEMPT FROM WHICH I LANDED. I DON'T RECALL ANY FURTHER COMMENT, OTHER THAN SHE WAS CONCERNED ABOUT MY ABNORMAL APCH. UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, WITH WX OVER SUCH A WIDE AREA, AND THE FACT THAT I HAD EXCELLENT VISIBILITY AFTER CLRING THE CLOUDS, I DO NOT FEEL THAT I BROKE ANY MINIMUMS NOR DID ANY UNSAFE MANEUVERS. I WILL ADMIT THAT THIS WAS NOT AN IDEAL SIT AND ONE THAT I WOULD NOT NORMALLY HAVE ATTEMPTED HAD THERE BEEN A SUITABLE ALTERNATE WITHIN A REASONABLE DISTANCE. PRIOR TO SHUTTING DOWN THE ACFT, I RETRIED ALL 3 NAVS AND FOUND THEM STILL GIVING NO L/R NEEDLE DEFLECTION TO THE HSI. AFTER MY QUEASY PAX LEFT, I CONTACTED A RADIO REPAIRMAN TO CHK OUT THE PROB. HE WAS BUSY AND COULD NOT LEAVE FOR 3 HRS. IN THE MEANTIME, I HAD THE ACFT REFUELED. WHEN THE RADIO MAN ARRIVED AND PLACED HIS TEST XMITTER IN THE ACFT, BOTH #1 AND #2 NAVS GAVE A FULL AND STEADY NORMAL DEFLECTION. I FEEL THAT THE 1 HR FLT IN LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN CREATED A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF P-STATIC THAT AFFECTED THE NAV ANTENNAE IN THE 110.5 MHZ FREQ RANGE. WHEN THE REFUELING TRUCK GNDED THE ACFT, THE STATIC ELECTRIC HAD DISSIPATED, PROBABLY RETURNING THE ANTENNAE TO NORMAL. THE REPAIR MAN ALSO AGREED THAT THIS WAS A PROBABLE CAUSE. THIS AIRPLANE WAS REPAINTED 12 MONTHS PRIOR TO THIS FLT JUST BEFORE FLT. I RECALL ONE OTHER INSTANCE OF A MOMENTARY LOSS OF LOC SIGNAL WHILE PASSING THROUGH A LIGHT SHOWER TOWARD A VISUAL INTERCEPT TO A LOC AT MCALLEN, BUT THOUGHT NOTHING OF IT SINCE IT LASTED ONLY A SECOND OR TWO AND THE ARPT WAS VFR.

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.