PS5 ATR42/72 Autopilot Random Disconnects

Bug Reporting Hub Aircraft & Systems
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1

ISSUE DESCRIPTION

Description of the issue:

In the newly released ATR 42/72 -600 on PS5, I have been experiencing frequent, random autopilot disconnects. I originally suspected it to be due to small accidental control inputs, so I increased my controller deadzones and made sure all assistances were off. However the issue persisted. I then unbound all autopilot related keybinds from my controls, which didn’t help. I don’t believe it was due to flight parameters, as I was in straight level flight, in lnav and alt modes, at fl130, at 220 knots, power levers in notch and power management at Crz. It happens at random intervals, sometimes not for 10 minutes, sometimes a few times minutes apart.

FREQUENCY OF ISSUE

How often does this occur for you

Has happened every time I’ve used the ATR so far.

REPRODUCTION STEPS

Please list clear steps you took in order to help our test team reproduce the same issue:

  1. Start ATR from cold + dark, takeoff.

  2. Climbing in IAS and LNAV modes, power levers in notch and power management in clb. Issue has occurred here.

  3. Then in Crz, no inputs on controls, autopilot disconnects itself.

3

I’m having the same issue, very sad and frustrating…

Now, I spend money on something that it doesn’t seem to work, and I can’t have my money back…

I wish it’s something easy to fix.

4

Been doing that to me for the entire time on PC. It’s a bug. It’s a popular plane, I don’t understand why they just don’t fix this.

5

So, I’m guessing this is happening for a long time?

I not sure if ATR was launched for PS5 and then removed for fixes, or it just launched a few days ago… Either way, it should’ve been fixed.

Let’s hope it don’t get much time for them to fix it.

7

It has been doing that all along.. I’ve heard different stories about the developer having an update ready but waiting on MS / Asobo.. who knows? It’s just broken and nobody is fixing it so far.

8

Hello !

Since switching to the native MSFS 2024 ATR on PS5, I’ve still been getting frequent AP disconnects.

One thing I noticed: NAV/LNAV often causes an immediate AP disconnect, while HDG is much more stable.

Today I accidentally flew an entire ATR 72 flight with no flight plan or destination entered in the MCDU at all, using HDG only. For the first time, the autopilot did not disconnect once.

It made me wonder if the issue might be related not only to NAV itself, but to the interaction between the FMS flight plan and the AFCS.

I’m going to test:

  • no FMS flight plan + HDG
  • FMS flight plan loaded + HDG

If anyone else on PS5 has the same AP issue, I’d be curious to know if you can reproduce this.

9

I will try it out!

10

There was an ATR update in the Marketplace, I loaded it, did not fix the autopilot disconnect issue.

11

Same for me, still keeps disconnecting.

I also tested without any flight plan, only with heading, it took longer to disconnect, but still did It.

12

Love the ATR, such a cool plane. But it’s time for it to go. I cant wait any longer.

13

It also does in the transition from climbing to crz

14

I would like to raise a serious concern regarding the ATR 42/72-600 in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on PS5.

I purchased this aircraft expecting a detailed and functional simulation of the ATR. I fully understand that the ATR is a complex aircraft and that operating it correctly requires study, procedures and training.

That is not the issue here.

The problem is that some of the aircraft’s most fundamental systems are not behaving reliably during normal operation.

The most serious issue I have experienced is the autopilot disconnecting unexpectedly during flight.

The aircraft can be flying straight and level, with no meaningful control inputs, properly configured, and with the appropriate autopilot modes engaged — and the AP can simply disconnect.

There are also reports of problems involving NAV/LNAV, the Flight Director, and transitions between different AFCS modes.

This makes it extremely difficult to determine whether a particular behavior is:

- an actual characteristic of the ATR;

- an operational mistake;

- or simply a software bug.

And that is particularly frustrating in a paid aircraft.

THIS IS A PAID PRODUCT

I want to emphasize this point because I believe it is important.

I am not expecting a completely bug-free product. I understand that complex software can have bugs, and I understand that developers need time to identify and fix them.

But I do expect the fundamental systems of a commercial aircraft that I have paid for to be sufficiently reliable to allow me to actually fly the aircraft.

I should be learning how to operate the ATR — not learning how to work around its bugs.

An autopilot that randomly disconnects, unreliable navigation modes, or inconsistent Flight Director behavior are not minor cosmetic issues.

They directly affect the basic operation of the aircraft and, consequently, the entire simulation experience.

There are already multiple reports from other users describing very similar problems, including users on PS5. In the current discussion, users have reported that the issue can occur during cruise, during the transition from climb to cruise, and that NAV/LNAV may sometimes trigger an immediate AP disconnect.

Some users have even reported that an ATR update did not resolve the problem.

WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE

I would sincerely like the developers to:

1. Acknowledge these issues clearly.

2. Confirm whether they are already being investigated.

3. Identify the affected systems.

4. Provide information about the expected fix.

5. Prioritize the reliability of the AFCS/AP and navigation systems.

The ATR is one of the aircraft I was most interested in flying in MSFS 2024 precisely because of its systems and operational characteristics.

It is therefore particularly disappointing to pay for it and then find myself having to avoid certain functions or constantly worry about whether the autopilot will remain engaged.

A complex aircraft does not need to be perfect.

But a paid aircraft should be functional.

I hope the developers take these reports seriously and provide a definitive solution.

I would also encourage other ATR users experiencing the same problems to report their experiences here. The more precise and reproducible information we can provide, the easier it should be for the development team to identify the underlying issue.

15

The autopilot disconnects by itself repeatedly during the flight, sometimes several times during a single flight. There is no apparent warning or intentional input from me that would explain the disconnection.
At first, I suspected that this could be related to potentiometer noise or unwanted input from my HOTAS 5. However, I performed some tests to rule this out. I tested how much movement on the control stick would be required to disconnect the autopilot, and I had to hold the stick fully back for a relatively long period of time before the autopilot would disconnect.
Based on this test, I don’t believe potentiometer noise or small unintended control inputs are the cause of the problem.
I also noticed that when the autopilot disconnects, the aircraft tends to bank to the left. I tried correcting the aircraft’s trim, but this did not solve the problem. The autopilot continues to disconnect unexpectedly.
This is extremely frustrating, especially considering that the ATR 72 is a paid product. When you purchase an aircraft, you expect its basic systems—particularly something as fundamental as the autopilot—to work reliably.
I hope the developers can investigate this issue, especially since multiple users appear to be experiencing the same behavior.

16

I bought it yesterday after waiting a really long time for it on PS5, and I’m honestly disappointed to see it’s still this rough.
I really don’t understand how there can be such huge problems with the autopilot, not to mention that as soon as you try to enter anything into the onboard EFB, I immediately get the WASM (or whatever it’s called) crash, with all the digital instrumentation going orange and the aircraft completely unusable.
Is it really possible that in the era of Claude Opus 5 nobody can run a proper code review and fix these bugs?
And as I said above, it’s not like this is a free product..

17

I don’t want to jinx anyone BUT. After the ATR update I’ve had 4 flights in a row where the autopilot stayed connected and worked. That’s never happened before…

18

Would you mind telling us how you set up the plane before the flight?
Did you do everything from the Airplane “ipad” or you use the fs EFB for things like flight planning, cargo, passengers and fuel loading?

19

I setup a Simbrief plan and import it into the EFB, and also SEND the plan to the FMS from the EFB.

I’ve always done it that way, and always had Autopilot disconnects. But so far after the update I’ve had no disconnects. But it’s early yet…!

20

Small update after some additional testing on PS5:

I’ve now tested this across several flights with both the ATR 42-600 and 72-600, and NAV mode seems to be strongly related to the AP disconnects in my case.

With a flight plan loaded and NAV engaged, I get repeated AP disconnects, sometimes several during the same flight. If I switch from NAV to HDG, the aircraft becomes significantly more stable and I can often continue the flight with no further disconnects, or only very occasional ones.

Interestingly, the flight plan itself does not seem to be the problem. On my latest tests I kept the complete flight plan loaded in the MCDU, but flew using HDG instead of NAV, and the AP remained stable.

I’ve reproduced this behavior several times now on both ATR variants, so at least in my case the strongest correlation seems to be NAV guidance being active rather than simply having a flight plan loaded.

I’m not claiming this is necessarily the root cause, but hopefully this can help narrow down what is triggering the issue.

I also want to confirm something mentioned by another user above: I experience the same tendency for the aircraft to suddenly bank to the left when the autopilot disconnects. I had already noticed this during my own testing, so it is interesting to see another PS5 user independently reporting the same behavior.

21

I have also tested nav vs hdg modes, and on my end, hdg mode does reduce the frequency of the disconnects although it does not eliminate them entirely. In regards to the yaw left on AP disconnect, I have experienced that as well, although I believe it is partially a result of the propeller torque, which is exaggerated in the sim. Hopefully this can be fixed soon as the ATR is otherwise a great aircraft.

22

Just had my first ATR flight on PS5, and in 1h flight I had something like a disconnection every 3 seconds.

Insane and disappointing.