A C182 pilot climbed above his altitude when he became distraction tuning his LORAN.

Attributes
ACN	389680
Time
Date	199712
Day	Tue
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	atc facility : sat
State Reference	TX
Altitude	msl bound lower : 5000 msl bound upper : 5500
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tracon : sat
Operator	general aviation : personal
Make Model Name	Skylane 182/RG Turbo Skylane/RG
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	cruise other
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	Other
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Qualification	pilot : instrument pilot : private
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 20 flight time total : 2000 flight time type : 15
ASRS Report	389680
Person 2
Affiliation	government : faa
Function	controller : departure
Qualification	controller : radar
Events
Anomaly	altitude deviation : excursion from assigned altitude non adherence : far non adherence : clearance
Independent Detector	other controllera
Resolutory Action	flight crew : returned to intended course or assigned course other
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

After leveloff at 5000 ft, pilot was setting LORAN when altitude drifted to 5500 ft. Controller directed immediate descent. Cause: did not fully trim airplane at leveloff, and then focused on LORAN tuning instead of flying.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A C182 PLT CLBED ABOVE HIS ALT WHEN HE BECAME DISTR TUNING HIS LORAN.

Narrative: AFTER LEVELOFF AT 5000 FT, PLT WAS SETTING LORAN WHEN ALT DRIFTED TO 5500 FT. CTLR DIRECTED IMMEDIATE DSCNT. CAUSE: DID NOT FULLY TRIM AIRPLANE AT LEVELOFF, AND THEN FOCUSED ON LORAN TUNING INSTEAD OF FLYING.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.