Narrative:

Prior to departing the ramp I and the captain (who was the pilot not flying for this leg) briefed the ruudy 3 departure as well as checked that it was correctly loaded in the FMS. I was asked to refrain from hand flying the departure procedure when I briefed that I would hand fly the procedure with the assistance of the flight director. Per the captain's request I operated the departure utilizing the autopilot. I called for the before takeoff checklist and lined up on the runway. At the completion of the checklist I asked for heading; navigation; and VNAV modes to be armed. We were cleared for takeoff and conducted a normal takeoff roll and rotation. At 400 ft per the captain's request I engaged the autopilot and continued to monitor the aircraft and its flight path. At approximately 1;300 ft we noticed the rate of climb had not decreased and altitude capture did not flash on the pfd. In the time it took me to further retard the power levers and disconnect the auto pilot to stop the climb we exceeded the 1;500 ft limit to our clearance on the ruudy 3 departure. I descended to 1;500 ft and re-engaged the auto pilot. We were then told by ATC to 'review the departure more careful next time' and given a heading of 280 and maintain 2;000 ft. When leveling at 2;000 ft I noticed that there was no altitude shown in blue to the left of the magenta 2;000 ft. That is when I looked down and noticed the VNAV was not selected on the autopilot control panel. This was the cause of the deviation from the clearance. I did not check prior to applying takeoff thrust that the modes that I requested be selected were in fact actually selected. Vigilance should be maintained when checking the status of the autopilot control panel. For VNAV departure procedures in high density traffic areas we must ensure that heading; navigation; and VNAV are selected prior to the application of takeoff thrust. At any time that a request is made by a flying pilot of a pilot not flying for a change in the mode control panel while he or she does not have the auto pilot on; the crew should confirm selection of the proper modes.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A BE400XP First Officer reported exceeding the 1;500 FT altitude limit on the RUUDY3 departure from TEB; citing failure to engage VNAV as contributory.

Narrative: Prior to departing the ramp I and the Captain (who was the pilot not flying for this leg) briefed the Ruudy 3 departure as well as checked that it was correctly loaded in the FMS. I was asked to refrain from hand flying the departure procedure when I briefed that I would hand fly the procedure with the assistance of the flight director. Per the Captain's request I operated the departure utilizing the autopilot. I called for the before takeoff checklist and lined up on the runway. At the completion of the checklist I asked for HDG; NAV; and VNAV modes to be armed. We were cleared for takeoff and conducted a normal takeoff roll and rotation. At 400 FT per the Captain's request I engaged the autopilot and continued to monitor the aircraft and its flight path. At approximately 1;300 FT we noticed the rate of climb had not decreased and Altitude Capture did not flash on the PFD. In the time it took me to further retard the power levers and disconnect the auto pilot to stop the climb we exceeded the 1;500 FT limit to our clearance on the Ruudy 3 Departure. I descended to 1;500 FT and re-engaged the auto pilot. We were then told by ATC to 'review the departure more careful next time' and given a heading of 280 and maintain 2;000 FT. When leveling at 2;000 FT I noticed that there was no altitude shown in blue to the left of the magenta 2;000 FT. That is when I looked down and noticed the VNAV was not selected on the autopilot control panel. This was the cause of the deviation from the clearance. I did not check prior to applying takeoff thrust that the modes that I requested be selected were in fact actually selected. Vigilance should be maintained when checking the status of the autopilot control panel. For VNAV departure procedures in high density traffic areas we must ensure that Heading; NAV; and VNAV are selected prior to the application of takeoff thrust. At any time that a request is made by a flying pilot of a pilot not flying for a change in the mode control panel while he or she does not have the auto pilot on; the crew should confirm selection of the proper modes.

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.