Max Trescott has found an interesting story that recently appeared in the media regarding a preliminary NTSB report about a 2007 crash shortly after take-off involving a Cessna Citation near Milwaukee, WI. It appears that one possible reason for the crash may have resulted from the co-pilot pushing the wrong button with one suggested scenario involving the turning on of the autopilot instead of the yaw damper shortly after the plane took off. The report also lists several other factors that may have also contributed to the crash with one team of investigators questioning whether the pilots should have even been flying while another set of investigators are focusing on the plane’s airworthiness.
Nevertheless, Max uses the case to comment that the two most common mistakes he sees pilots making include “pushing the wrong button on the autopilot” and not checking the “autopilot status indicators after each button push to confirm that the autopilot is in the state they think they’ve set.” He concludes by stating:
It’s well worth your time and money to get good instruction from a flight instructor who thoroughly understands the autopilot in the aircraft you fly. Also, when using the autopilot, remember to read the status indicator after each button push.
Good advice. Max’s analysis of the incident is covered on his blog Max Trescott on General Aviation while full accounts of the incident are covered by the Detroit Free Press (Probe of U-M crash: Autopilot on in error) and in the preliminary or factual NTSB report.
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