A B732 first officer reported an altitude bust in ZTL airspace due to flying in close proximity to a...

Attributes
ACN	589839
Time
Date	200308
Day	Tue
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	airport : cae.airport
State Reference	SC
Altitude	msl bound lower : 19000 msl bound upper : 19750
Environment
Flight Conditions	Mixed
Weather Elements	Thunderstorm
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	artcc : ztl.artcc
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	B737-200
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	descent : intermediate altitude
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : multi engine pilot : commercial pilot : instrument
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 60 flight time total : 9600 flight time type : 2500
ASRS Report	589839
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Events
Anomaly	altitude deviation : overshoot inflight encounter : turbulence inflight encounter : weather non adherence : published procedure non adherence : company policies non adherence : clearance non adherence : far
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	flight crew : regained aircraft control flight crew : returned to assigned altitude
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Weather Flight Crew Human Performance
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

Given descent from FL190 to 11000 ft. Turned to avoid cumulonimbus buildup in our flight path. Flew through a small portion of the side of the cloud (cumulonimbus buildup). Autoplt disconnected and gust climbed the aircraft to 19750 ft before crew noticed and descended the aircraft back to its descent path below FL190. Total time above FL190 was about 45 seconds.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B732 FO RPTED AN ALT BUST IN ZTL AIRSPACE DUE TO FLYING IN CLOSE PROX TO A CUMULONIMBUS.

Narrative: GIVEN DSCNT FROM FL190 TO 11000 FT. TURNED TO AVOID CUMULONIMBUS BUILDUP IN OUR FLT PATH. FLEW THROUGH A SMALL PORTION OF THE SIDE OF THE CLOUD (CUMULONIMBUS BUILDUP). AUTOPLT DISCONNECTED AND GUST CLBED THE ACFT TO 19750 FT BEFORE CREW NOTICED AND DSNDED THE ACFT BACK TO ITS DSCNT PATH BELOW FL190. TOTAL TIME ABOVE FL190 WAS ABOUT 45 SECONDS.

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.

A B732 first officer reported an altitude bust in ZTL airspace due to flying in close proximity to a cumulonimbus.