Pilot-induced oscillation

The pilot then begins applying down elevator until the vertical speed indicator reads 500 feet per minute, starting the cycle over.

During flight test, pilot-induced oscillation is one of the handling qualities factors that is analyzed, with the aircraft being graded by an established scale (chart at right).

[3] On 20 January 1974, a YF-16 (a development prototype for what was to become the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon) was on a high-speed taxi test when PIO caused the aircraft to veer off to the left of the runway.

[4] After that unintentional maiden flight, the development team reduced the roll gain of the fly-by-wire computer to eliminate similar PIO during takeoff or landing.

Pilot-induced oscillation was blamed for the 1992 crash of the prototype Lockheed YF-22, landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

This crash was linked to actuator rate limiting, causing the pilot, Tom Morgenfeld, to overcompensate for pitch fluctuations.

In September 1999, Olympic Airways Flight 3838, a Dassault Falcon 900B, experienced several pilot-induced oscillations while descending into Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport.