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A cessna 750 suffered altitude and course deviations when the autopilot malfunctioned at FL430.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 855019 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200910 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZDV.ARTCC |
| State Reference | CO |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Citation X (C750) |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Autopilot |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude Deviation - Track / Heading All Types |
Narrative:
During cruise flight @ fl 430; with autopilot engaged and navigation/altitude selected; aircraft banked right and pitched down with no autopilot aural warning or other warnings. A 15-degree angle of bank resulted in an initial course deviation of 20 degrees; and a 10-degree pitch down resulted in a decent rate of 2500 fpm and an initial altitude deviation of 500 feet. Pilot flying immediately disconnected autopilot and smoothly initiated a return to assigned course and altitude. ATC denver center was immediately notified of the autopilot malfunction and resulting deviation and stated that there were no traffic considerations in our area. With ATC clearance; the recovery was initiated smoothly so as not to alarm the passengers; resulting in a maximum altitude deviation of 1500 ft below assigned altitude and a maximum course deviation of 30-degrees of assigned course heading. Crew returned aircraft to normal flight on course and altitude and completed the remainder of the flight without event. Upon landing and securing aircraft; the company was notified of the in-flight event by PIC.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A Cessna 750 suffered altitude and course deviations when the autopilot malfunctioned at FL430.
Narrative: During cruise flight @ FL 430; with autopilot engaged and NAV/ALT selected; aircraft banked right and pitched down with no autopilot aural warning or other warnings. A 15-degree angle of bank resulted in an initial course deviation of 20 degrees; and a 10-degree pitch down resulted in a decent rate of 2500 fpm and an initial altitude deviation of 500 feet. Pilot flying immediately disconnected autopilot and smoothly initiated a return to assigned course and altitude. ATC Denver center was immediately notified of the autopilot malfunction and resulting deviation and stated that there were no traffic considerations in our area. With ATC clearance; the recovery was initiated smoothly so as not to alarm the passengers; resulting in a maximum altitude deviation of 1500 ft below assigned altitude and a maximum course deviation of 30-degrees of assigned course heading. Crew returned aircraft to normal flight on course and altitude and completed the remainder of the flight without event. Upon landing and securing aircraft; the company was notified of the in-flight event by PIC.
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.