The single pilot of a citation lost control in turbulence and exceeded his cleared altitude by 600 f...

Attributes
ACN	979473
Time
Date	201111
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	FFZ.Airport
State Reference	AZ
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Citationjet (C525/C526) - CJ I / II / III / IV
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Initial Climb
Route In Use	Vectors SID MESA
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 50 Flight Crew Total 1500 Flight Crew Type 200
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence

Narrative:

I had taken off from ffz; set the altitude preset to 3;000 ft and engaged the autopilot. During climbout and prior to capturing my assigned altitude of 3;000 ft; I experienced sudden and severe turbulence - causing the airplane to pitch up and bank abruptly. The high pitch angle/turbulence caused the autopilot to disengage and the aircraft to continue its climb with a higher than normal angle of attack. I immediately leveled the wings and reduced angle of attack to regain positive control of the aircraft while reversing the climb from approximately 3;600 ft. I then began a controlled descent to the assigned altitude and heading. After an approved climb to above the cloud layer (smoother air) I was able to successfully reengage the autopilot and continue my flight.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: The single pilot of a Citation lost control in turbulence and exceeded his cleared altitude by 600 FT before regaining control and returning to his assigned altitude.

Narrative: I had taken off from FFZ; set the altitude preset to 3;000 FT and engaged the autopilot. During climbout and prior to capturing my assigned altitude of 3;000 FT; I experienced sudden and severe turbulence - causing the airplane to pitch up and bank abruptly. The high pitch angle/turbulence caused the autopilot to disengage and the aircraft to continue its climb with a higher than normal angle of attack. I immediately leveled the wings and reduced angle of attack to regain positive control of the aircraft while reversing the climb from approximately 3;600 FT. I then began a controlled descent to the assigned altitude and heading. After an approved climb to above the cloud layer (smoother air) I was able to successfully reengage the autopilot and continue my flight.

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.

The single pilot of a citation lost control in turbulence and exceeded his cleared altitude by 600 ft before regaining control and returning to his assigned altitude.