Date: 202001
Local time of day: 1801-2400
Location: ZZZZ.Airport, FO
Flight conditions: IMC
Weather elements / visibility: Icing; Turbulence
Light: Night
Aircraft: EMB ERJ 140 ER/LR
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 121
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Passenger
Flight phase: Climb
ATC / advisory: Center ZZZZ
Aircraft component: Flight Director
Component problem: Malfunctioning
Reporter organization: Air Carrier
Reporter function: Captain; Pilot Not Flying
Reporter qualification: Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Human factors: Confusion; Human-Machine Interface
Anomaly: Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude; Deviation - Altitude Overshoot; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Detector: Person Flight Crew
When detected: In-flight
Result: Flight Crew Became Reoriented; Flight Crew Regained Aircraft Control
Contributing factors: Aircraft; Human Factors
Primary problem: Aircraft

Narrative: Upon climbout from ZZZZ Runway XXR; we were assigned a climb to 7;000 feet MSL. We were in IMC conditions and light turbulence; and the First Officer; who was the Pilot Flying (PF); was also accelerating the aircraft from 200 KIAS to 240 KIAS. A few hundred feet before level-off at 7;000 feet MSL; ATC issued a clearance direct to a fix; and I; as the Pilot Monitoring (PM); selected direct to the fix in the FMS and activated the NAV mode on the flight control panel. The PF was flying the aircraft manually; the autopilot was not engaged. We climbed to approximately 7;200 feet MSL before I noticed the altitude deviation and took the yoke to correct our altitude. The Universal FMS coupled with the Honeywell Primus EFIS has a tendency to display erroneous information for a short period after selecting direct to a fix. It is common for the flight director to initially indicate a turn in the other direction at first; sometimes quite aggressively; before turning back to the correct direction to comply with the commanded direction. In this case; we were given a left turn direct to a fix; and the FD initially indicated a turn to the right. The PF then asked whether we were supposed to make a left or right turn; as I believe he was confused by the initial indication of the FD. It was during this time that the altitude deviation took place. It is my opinion that the primary cause of this event was the choice to hand-fly the aircraft on climbout at night and in IMC conditions from a field that was unfamiliar to the PF; however; the confusion introduced by the erroneous information provided by the FD cannot be discounted. Autopilot usage should be the norm when flying in night IMC conditions; barring a malfunction of the autopilot system there is simply no reason to unnecessarily increase the flight deck workload by hand-flying an aircraft in such conditions. Also; the issues present in the interface between the Universal FMS and Honeywell Primus systems should perhaps be investigated. It is frustrating to be unsure of what the automation of the aircraft is going to do when a new lateral mode is selected.




Synopsis: EMB-140 Captain reported that after entering a new fix into the FMS; the flight director initially indicated a turn in the opposite direction; causing confusion and an altitude deviation.