This is an excerpt from a report made to the Aviation Safety Reporting System. The narrative is written by the pilot, rather than FAA or NTSB officials. To maintain anonymity, many details, such as aircraft model or airport, are often scrubbed from the reports.
Complete AHRS failure with the exception of altimeter and airspeed. Caused by speaker in the baggage compartment (magnets).
VFR conditions, loss of navigation and heading indicator, unreliable compass heading, impossible wind speeds indicated.
Situation resolved when speaker/magnet removed from baggage area.
Hoping the FAA can inform the public of failures caused by speakers and other common magnets near vital components and computers in modern aircraft. Outcome would have been completely different if the situation would have occurred in IMC conditions.
Aircraft scheduled for pitot-static check out of abundance of caution, even though all systems are indicating back to normal.
Primary Problem: Aircraft
ACN: 2235756
When you click on the link it will take you to the ASRS Online Database. Click on Report Number and put the ACN in the search box, then click Search. On that page, click on “view only the 1 most recent report.”
Something missing here…
“Complete AHRS failure with the exception of altimeter and airspeed.”
Probably because the altimeter and airspeed indicators are driven by the air data computer (ADC), not the attitude and heading reference system (AHRS).
Maybe a bit more system knowledge would’ve saved the cost of the “pitot-static checkout”?
What? Ground Schools don’t bother teaching ADAHRS operation?
What? Kid flunked elementary physics in high school (or was he an art major?)
How do you deal with a magnetic personality?
Regards/J
Ha. I was wondering if he had a boom-box back there.
One time I had flown to an airport about 80 miles away, had a radio removed for service, and returned home with an empty hole in the panel. Shortly after takeoff ATC queried me about my heading. Turns out the removed radio had an effect on my compass. Should have caught this on the runway alignment, but didn’t.