DA40 Diamond Star
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 24; Flight Crew Total 483; Flight Crew Type 11.7
Confusion; Distraction; Human-Machine Interface; Situational Awareness; Troubleshooting
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types
Flight Crew Became Reoriented; Flight Crew Overcame Equipment Problem
Human Factors
I departed on a right downwind departure in a Diamond DA40 G1000; in VMC. I had programmed the route in the Garmin 1000. I was using an iPad with ForeFlight as navigation backup; and had the same route programmed into the iPad. Shortly after departure; the iPad shut down due to overheating. The G1000 MFD appeared to be malfunctioning; as it did not show any terrain; airspace; waypoints; etc. All that was shown was a white line on green background; the line was moving around. While trying to troubleshoot the G1000; I did not pay close enough attention to my heading. When I realized my position by looking out the window and seeing [my destination] off my left wing; an airport I had intended to overfly; I realized that my course was more southerly than intended and that I was headed towards Class B airspace. I do not believe that I entered the Class B; however it was disconcerting to me that I paid more attention to troubleshooting the G1000 than to looking out the window and seeing that I was off course. Had I not been in an area that is familiar to me; it would have been a more serious situation; with both my primary (G1000) and secondary (ForeFlight on iPad) navigation tools not providing me with information as to my location. To prevent a similar occurrence in the future:1) Make sure that the G1000 PFD and MFD are displaying the desired information prior to departure. It turned out that the range was zoomed in too much; so no waypoints were visible on the display. Once I zoomed it out; my desired course did show up on the MFD. 2) Aviate; navigate; communicate. Do not let the troubleshooting of navigation systems take precedence over using other means for navigation; such as looking out the window and seeing familiar landmarks. All I had to do was look for [my destination] off my left wing and I would have known exactly where I wanted to go. Had I not spent so much time troubleshooting the G1000; I would have realized that I was off course much earlier.3) Assume that the iPad will stop working at any time. This was not the first time that I've had an iPad shut down due to overheating during a flight. Have available a hard copy of the nav log; particularly for flights in or near complicated airspace. Have a paper chart readily available as a backup. I did have the necessary chart; but it was in the back seat and was not opened to show the relevant area.
Shortly after takeoff the pilot of a Diamond DA40 lost situational awareness when his iPad shut down and his G1000 appeared to be malfunctioning. Realizing that he was off course when his first intended waypoint loomed off the left wing; he became concerned that he may have violated Class B airspace.