Originally Posted by
what next
And a proper approach mode including glideslope. It is not the dumb kind of "wing leveler" device found in some light aircraft. And the UP and DOWN buttons acting on the attitude and not on the vertical speed is not unique to this autopilot either. The only unusual feature are the trim lights that prompt the pilot to trim manually. In similar autopilots the trim lights illuminate when the autopilot acts on the trim. As was written above, the accident pilot seems not to have been aware of that. Flying on autopilot for some time, possibly with power and altitude changes, may leave the aircraft in an out-of-trim condition outside the force that the autopilot servos can handle. When the autopilot subsequently disengages, a rapid change in pitch will follow as a consequence. Everyone who has flown old(ish) light aircraft for some time will sooner or later encounter this situation. Lightplane autopilot control forces are in the order of 15 to 25 force pounds, like lifting a bucket of water. Apart from the startle effect and possible disorientation in instrument meteorological conditions they are easily controllable manually. Especially in this flight with two pilots on board.
Let's hope the data cards of the video cameras are not damaged by the fire as they will certainly reveal what exactly led to this accident.
it doesn’t do gps glide slopes though (
afaik) and certainly not on my bird