B757 crew overshot assigned altitude after becoming distraction with a frequency problem.

Attributes
ACN	516950
Time
Date	200107
Day	Fri
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	atc facility : zny.artcc
State Reference	NY
Altitude	msl bound lower : 17000 msl bound upper : 17500
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : atp
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 110 flight time total : 9000 flight time type : 800
ASRS Report	516950
Events
Anomaly	altitude deviation : excursion from assigned altitude non adherence : clearance
Resolutory Action	flight crew : returned to assigned altitude
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Flight Crew Human Performance
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

The captain was hand flying the aircraft climbing out of lga. At approximately 14000 ft, I attempted to contact lga operations with departure information. There was no contact with lga operations and I informed the captain of the situation. At that time the captain looked to check the frequency and looked back up to notice that we were above our assigned altitude and immediately commenced recovery back to 17000 ft. Our peak altitude reached 17500 ft during the immediate correction back to 17000 ft.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B757 CREW OVERSHOT ASSIGNED ALT AFTER BECOMING DISTR WITH A FREQ PROB.

Narrative: THE CAPT WAS HAND FLYING THE ACFT CLBING OUT OF LGA. AT APPROX 14000 FT, I ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT LGA OPS WITH DEP INFO. THERE WAS NO CONTACT WITH LGA OPS AND I INFORMED THE CAPT OF THE SIT. AT THAT TIME THE CAPT LOOKED TO CHK THE FREQ AND LOOKED BACK UP TO NOTICE THAT WE WERE ABOVE OUR ASSIGNED ALT AND IMMEDIATELY COMMENCED RECOVERY BACK TO 17000 FT. OUR PEAK ALT REACHED 17500 FT DURING THE IMMEDIATE CORRECTION BACK TO 17000 FT.

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.