# Incident 20130218002379I: Dassault FALCON 2000EX, Phoenix, AZ, February 18, 2013

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 18, 2013, 10:16 local time
- Place: Phoenix, AZ
- Airport: Phoenix Sky Harbor International
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: BKEA
- Location: 33.4343° N, 112.0116° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at PHOENIX SKY HARBOR INTL (PHX), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.4343&lon=-112.0116&mi=10
- Aircraft: N510CT (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: DASSAULT FALCON 2000EX
- Reported engine: P&W CANADA PW308C
- People aboard: 6
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 16,000 total, 400 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20130218002379I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

THE PILOT REPORTED; WHILE IN NORMAL CRUISE AT FL 400, APPROXIMATELY 4+30 INTO THE FLIGHT THE WHITE ADVISORY ANNUNCIATION AUTOPILOT FAIL OCCURRED. THE AUTOPILOT SWITCHED FROM CHANNEL 1 TO CHANNEL 2. A FEW MINUTES LATER THE SAME ANNUNCIATION OCCURRED AND THE AUTOPILOT SWITCHED FROM CHANNEL 2 TO CHANNEL 1. ABOUT 10 MINUTES LATER THE YELLOW CAUTION   ANNUNCIATION ROLL MISTRIM OCCURRED AND THE AUTOPILOT WAS KICKED OFF. HE HAND FLEW AND DETERMINED THAT THE TRIMS WERE SET PROPERLY FOR STRAIGHT & LEVEL. HOWEVER, HE FOUND THAT IT WAS DIFFICULT TO TURN LEFT FOR A MINOR HEADING  CORRECTION. PITCH WAS OK AND A RIGHT TURN WAS NORMAL, BUT HE HAD TO EXERT MORE THAN NORMAL FORCE TO THE LEFT UNTIL THE BINDING SUDDENLY RELEASED AND THE WINGS JERKED TO THE LEFT. AFTER THAT THE CONTROL FORCES WERE NORMAL IN BOTH DIRECTIONS, SO AFTER ABOUT 5 MINUTES HAND FLYING HE RE-ENGAGED THE AUTOPILOT AND CONTINUED NORMALLY. AFTER ABOUT 10 MORE MINUTES THE YELLOW CAUTION ANNUNCIATION ROLL MISTRIM OCCURRED AGAIN AND THE AUTOPILOT KICKED OFF AGAIN. AGAIN IT WAS DIFFICULT TO TURN LEFT UNTIL MORE THAN NORMAL PRESSURE WAS EXERTED ON THE CONTROL YOKE IN ORDER TO UNBIND THE AILERON, AND THEN THE CONTROLS WERE NORMAL. NOW THINKING THERE WAS AN AUTOPILOT ISSUE, HE DECIDED TO DESCEND TO FL 280, BELOW RVSM, AND HAND FLY THE REST OF THE WAY (NOW JUST OVER AN HOUR REMAINING) INTO KVNY. NOW AT FL 280, IN ABOUT ANOTHER 10 MINUTES, THE LEFT TURN BINDING OCCURRED AGAIN. NOW KNOWING IT WAS NOT THE AUTOPILOT, BUT NOT KNOWING WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM, THEY DECIDED TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY AND DIVERT TO PHOENIX-KPHX AIRPORT. THE BINDING OCCURRED 2 MORE TIMES IN THE DESCENT, WITH THE LAST TIME AT ABOUT 6000'. AFTER GETTING THE BINDING TO RELEASE THAT TIME, THE REST OF THE FLIGHT AND LANDING WERE NORMAL. SAFELY ON THE GROUND THEY CANCELLED THE EMERGENCY AND TAXIED INTO PARKING NORMALLY.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.