Preliminary crash report cites ?autopilot problem?

The pilot killed in a Baltimore County plane crash last month reported an autopilot problem minutes into the flight and he circled twice before he lost radio contact, according to a preliminary investigation report.

Pilot Theodore Ryder, 45, of Joppa, requested clearance to land in Frederick minutes after taking off from Harford County on his way to Abingdon, Va., according to a report released this weekend by the National Transportation Safety Board. Ryder and two friends, Paul Sorensen and Timothy Conner, both 48 and also from Joppa, died in the March 24 crash in a wooded area of Jacksonville.