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A C-208 pilot declared an emergency and diverted to a nearby airport when electrical fumes and smoke emanated from the autopilot engage switch.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 932744 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201102 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | FO |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | IMC |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Caravan 208B |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 135 |
| Flight Phase | Descent |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Switch |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Sea Flight Crew Commercial |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 145 Flight Crew Total 3100 Flight Crew Type 1800 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor |
Narrative:
Shortly after I began the descent the autopilot disconnected. I looked at the circuit breaker; which was in; and then tried to activate the autopilot again with no luck. I began to notice an electrical smell. I looked again at the circuit breakers and electrical system indicators to look for a power problem. I saw smoke coming from the autopilot engage switch. I searched for the autopilot circuit breaker; pulled it and the smoke seemed to stop immediately although I still had a strong smell. I called ATC; reported smoke in the cockpit and requested an emergency descent and radar vectors to the nearest airport. I was cleared to 1;500 ft and given a vector. I descended and broke out of the clouds at 2;000 ft. I reported the field in sight and canceled IFR; I reported my position on unicom; made a normal landing; taxied to the ramp and disembarked the passengers at customs. There were no injuries to passengers nor damage to the aircraft with the exception of the autopilot. Cause of the problem is; as yet; un-determined. The isolation of the autopilot and elevator trim circuit breakers interrupted the power from the autopilot and stopped the smoke. A decision was made mutually with maintenance personnel to ferry the aircraft to its home base so repairs could be made to the autopilot system.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A C-208 pilot declared an emergency and diverted to a nearby airport when electrical fumes and smoke emanated from the autopilot engage switch.
Narrative: Shortly after I began the descent the autopilot disconnected. I looked at the circuit breaker; which was in; and then tried to activate the autopilot again with no luck. I began to notice an electrical smell. I looked again at the circuit breakers and electrical system indicators to look for a power problem. I saw smoke coming from the autopilot engage switch. I searched for the autopilot circuit breaker; pulled it and the smoke seemed to stop immediately although I still had a strong smell. I called ATC; reported smoke in the cockpit and requested an emergency descent and radar vectors to the nearest airport. I was cleared to 1;500 FT and given a vector. I descended and broke out of the clouds at 2;000 FT. I reported the field in sight and canceled IFR; I reported my position on Unicom; made a normal landing; taxied to the ramp and disembarked the passengers at Customs. There were no injuries to passengers nor damage to the aircraft with the exception of the autopilot. Cause of the problem is; as yet; un-determined. The isolation of the autopilot and elevator trim circuit breakers interrupted the power from the autopilot and stopped the smoke. A decision was made mutually with Maintenance personnel to ferry the aircraft to its home base so repairs could be made to the autopilot system.
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.