 |
37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
|
A PA-31T corporate pilot reported his aircraft made a 180 degree turn while IMC after a faulty alternator output affected the captain's HSI; flight director and autopilot. GPS heading was flown to the VMC alternate airport.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1323749 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201601 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | IMC |
| Light | Dusk |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | PA-31 Navajo/Chieftan/Mojave/T1040 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | AC Generator/Alternator |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Flight Engineer |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 200 Flight Crew Total 31700 Flight Crew Type 9000 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Clearance |
Narrative:
I was flying IFR. The copilot's heading (heading) indicator had shown wild precession on this flight. We were headed north; my HSI indicated north. The center said; ' I see you are in a left turn; are you still proceeding to your destination?' I said 'yes;' they gave us a turn to a heading. My HSI stayed on north; the copilot's heading indicator was unreliable. At this time we discovered by our GPS that we had made a 180 degree turn without realizing it. Knowing that the weather was VFR in the alternate but not at our filed destination; we used our GPS for heading direction and proceeded to our alternate. We had lost use of my HSI; my flight director; autopilot due to a series of electronic failures. We proceeded to the alternate; landed in visual conditions; and turned the plane over to maintenance for repairs.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A PA-31T corporate pilot reported his aircraft made a 180 degree turn while IMC after a faulty alternator output affected the Captain's HSI; Flight Director and autopilot. GPS heading was flown to the VMC alternate airport.
Narrative: I was flying IFR. The copilot's Heading (HDG) indicator had shown wild precession on this flight. We were headed north; my HSI indicated north. The center said; ' I see you are in a left turn; are you still proceeding to your destination?' I said 'yes;' they gave us a turn to a heading. My HSI stayed on north; the copilot's HDG indicator was unreliable. At this time we discovered by our GPS that we had made a 180 degree turn without realizing it. Knowing that the weather was VFR in the alternate but not at our filed destination; we used our GPS for heading direction and proceeded to our alternate. We had lost use of my HSI; my flight director; autopilot due to a series of electronic failures. We proceeded to the alternate; landed in visual conditions; and turned the plane over to maintenance for repairs.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.