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The flight instructor and student pilot aboard a beechcraft king air were taken by surprise when the aircraft unexpectedly climbed abruptly into oncoming traffic when the altitude hold was engaged.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 895666 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201006 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.ARTCC |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Super King Air 300 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Aircraft 2 | |
| Make Model Name | Commercial Fixed Wing |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Descent |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Altitude Hold/Capture |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Instructor |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Multiengine |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 63 Flight Crew Total 24286 Flight Crew Type 3100 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Conflict Airborne Conflict Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude Deviation - Procedural Clearance Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control |
Narrative:
While on a training flight in a beech king air with one student we had just leveled at FL220; set cruise power and engaged the autopilot in 'heading' and 'flight director' mode. An [air carrier] was at about our 10 o'clock position; cleared by ARTCC to descend to FL230. As soon as we engaged the autopilot 'altitude mode' our airplane pitched up violently. We were able to stop the pitch up at about 22;500 MSL and manually flew back down to FL220. However; almost simultaneously; center told the [air carrier] to stop his descent at 23;600 ft. By then we had regained control of our king air at FL220 so I do not believe any loss of separation occurred. We continued our flight at FL220 without using 'altitude hold.' the [air carrier] flight was cleared to resume descent to a lower altitude.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: The flight instructor and student pilot aboard a Beechcraft King Air were taken by surprise when the aircraft unexpectedly climbed abruptly into oncoming traffic when the altitude hold was engaged.
Narrative: While on a training flight in a Beech King Air with one student we had just leveled at FL220; set cruise power and engaged the autopilot in 'Heading' and 'Flight Director' mode. An [air carrier] was at about our 10 o'clock position; cleared by ARTCC to descend to FL230. As soon as we engaged the autopilot 'Altitude Mode' our airplane pitched up violently. We were able to stop the pitch up at about 22;500 MSL and manually flew back down to FL220. However; almost simultaneously; Center told the [air carrier] to stop his descent at 23;600 FT. By then we had regained control of our King Air at FL220 so I do not believe any loss of separation occurred. We continued our flight at FL220 without using 'Altitude Hold.' The [air carrier] flight was cleared to resume descent to a lower altitude.
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.