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A C421 pilot's HSI malfunctioned causing the autopilot to induce rolls distracting him. During descent in haze to the destination airport in hilly terrain; the pilot dealing with the malfunctioning HSI and unfamiliar with the airport had difficulty finding the destination.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 843388 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200907 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Golden Eagle 421 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Descent Initial Approach |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Compass (HSI/ETC) |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Private |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 20 Flight Crew Total 1100 Flight Crew Type 60 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Track / Heading All Types Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence |
Narrative:
Enroute; initial clearance amended prior to reaching XXX1 VORTAC. Just before change in clearance; HSI malfunctioned; secondarily causing autopilot to perform uncommanded rolls. Autopilot disengaged; HSI distracting and covered with post-it note. Used co-pilots dg and magnetic compass and GPS for heading changes. Hand flying and copying new clearance problematic (being left-handed makes this worse). ATC identified heading to XXX2 VORTAC; instead of XXX3 VORTAC first. Subsequently cleared direct destination airport. Hazy conditions and hilly terrain made spotting airport difficult; and flew past. ATC provided vector; and after that spotted airport and made uneventful landing. I believe problem stemmed from combination of HSI/autopilot malfunction distraction; leading to pilot work overload; compounded by hazy conditions/hilly terrain which was unfamiliar; all at the end of the second leg of long cross-country flight. (HSI replaced prior to departure).
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A C421 pilot's HSI malfunctioned causing the autopilot to induce rolls distracting him. During descent in haze to the destination airport in hilly terrain; the pilot dealing with the malfunctioning HSI and unfamiliar with the airport had difficulty finding the destination.
Narrative: Enroute; initial clearance amended prior to reaching XXX1 VORTAC. Just before change in clearance; HSI malfunctioned; secondarily causing autopilot to perform uncommanded rolls. Autopilot disengaged; HSI distracting and covered with post-it note. Used co-pilots DG and magnetic compass and GPS for heading changes. Hand flying and copying new clearance problematic (being left-handed makes this worse). ATC identified heading to XXX2 VORTAC; instead of XXX3 VORTAC first. Subsequently cleared direct destination airport. Hazy conditions and hilly terrain made spotting airport difficult; and flew past. ATC provided vector; and after that spotted airport and made uneventful landing. I believe problem stemmed from combination of HSI/autopilot malfunction distraction; leading to pilot work overload; compounded by hazy conditions/hilly terrain which was unfamiliar; all at the end of the second leg of long cross-country flight. (HSI replaced prior to departure).
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.