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A C414 autopilot disconnected during an IMC approach and after ATC questioned the pilot's heading he recovered from a 60 degree bank descending turn and returned to land safely.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1067264 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201302 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | IMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Chancellor 414A / C414 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Initial Approach |
| Route In Use | Vectors |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Private Flight Crew Instrument |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 40 Flight Crew Total 1485 Flight Crew Type 129 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Track / Heading All Types Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control |
Narrative:
While on an ILS approach in IMC; I was advised that I was drifting left of course. When I changed the flight director heading; there was no response. The autopilot had disconnected. By this time I was in a descent; off course and in a 60 degree bank. After leveling the plane; I corrected the descent and climbed back to altitude. The controller did a fantastic job vectoring us back to the airport until we had visual contact; we landed safely; parked; and kissed the ground. Dense fog was drifting through the area; I would guess the ceiling to be about 700 at that time.I believe a contributing factor was the lack of situational awareness once I realized the autopilot was off. The fog moving through the area lowered the ceiling and visibility to below what I was expecting; the sky conditions had been improving and I was anticipating a lot better visibility upon arrival. I should have been more prepared to handle the conditions that developed.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A C414 autopilot disconnected during an IMC approach and after ATC questioned the pilot's heading he recovered from a 60 degree bank descending turn and returned to land safely.
Narrative: While on an ILS approach in IMC; I was advised that I was drifting left of course. When I changed the flight director heading; there was no response. The autopilot had disconnected. By this time I was in a descent; off course and in a 60 degree bank. After leveling the plane; I corrected the descent and climbed back to altitude. The Controller did a fantastic job vectoring us back to the airport until we had visual contact; we landed safely; parked; and kissed the ground. Dense fog was drifting through the area; I would guess the ceiling to be about 700 at that time.I believe a contributing factor was the lack of situational awareness once I realized the autopilot was off. The fog moving through the area lowered the ceiling and visibility to below what I was expecting; the sky conditions had been improving and I was anticipating a lot better visibility upon arrival. I should have been more prepared to handle the conditions that developed.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 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.