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A PA46 pilot reported an autopilot malfunction or possible runaway trim attempting to level at 4000 feet. Control was regained; although the trim problem was not corrected prior to landing at destination.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 863227 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200911 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | IMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | PA-46 Malibu/Malibu Mirage/Malibu Matrix |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Takeoff |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Elevator Trim System |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Private |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 50 Flight Crew Total 950 Flight Crew Type 40 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Altitude Overshoot Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control |
Narrative:
Due to challenging conditions I performed a very thorough preflight and departure preparation. ATC cleared me to destination at 4000 ft. It became clear as I approached 4000 feet that the autopilot had something wrong and was going to fly through it. I selected (altitude) at 3950 ft but it continued to climb to approximately 4250 ft. I tried to disconnect the autopilot with the yoke switch and later at the off/on switch for autopilot to no avail. All this was while over powering autopilot and pulling back power and hand flying course. I told ATC that I had autopilot problems and they volunteered that I could land at a close by airport; but I didn't want to reconfigure my navigation.; since it was still programmed for destination. I was having lots of problem holding altitude. Nearing destination I got a hand off to a frequency that was impossible to hear clearly; so I successfully called tower and told of my situation. Tower cleared me to land; which I did with no problem. I very much appreciate the help from ATC controllers and was happy to get on the ground safely. I believe that the trim on the elevator went all the way to the stop and became lodged there somehow.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A PA46 pilot reported an autopilot malfunction or possible runaway trim attempting to level at 4000 feet. Control was regained; although the trim problem was not corrected prior to landing at destination.
Narrative: Due to challenging conditions I performed a very thorough preflight and departure preparation. ATC cleared me to destination at 4000 FT. It became clear as I approached 4000 feet that the autopilot had something wrong and was going to fly through it. I selected (ALT) at 3950 FT but it continued to climb to approximately 4250 FT. I tried to disconnect the autopilot with the yoke switch and later at the off/on switch for autopilot to no avail. All this was while over powering autopilot and pulling back power and hand flying course. I told ATC that I had autopilot problems and they volunteered that I could land at a close by airport; but I didn't want to reconfigure my NAV.; since it was still programmed for destination. I was having lots of problem holding altitude. Nearing destination I got a hand off to a frequency that was impossible to hear clearly; so I successfully called Tower and told of my situation. Tower cleared me to land; which I did with no problem. I very much appreciate the help from ATC controllers and was happy to get on the ground safely. I believe that the trim on the elevator went all the way to the stop and became lodged there somehow.
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.