Part 107 UAS pilot reported during an autonomous mission; momentarily climbing above the authorized altitude restriction due to improper settings in the UAS software. The pilot took manual control of the UAS and landed it upon noticing the error.

Narrative

At the completion an autonomous inspection of an aircraft the UAS climbed from ~30ft AGL to ~80ft AGL automatically. The FAA airspace authorization was for a maximum altitude of 50ft AGL. The RPIC noticed the climb and immediately took manual control of the aircraft and returned the aircraft to the ground. The UAS was above 50ft for less than five seconds.After the UAS was returned to the ground the PIC investigated how the breach occurred and discovered that the ground control software had two separate maximum altitude limits. One for autonomous flight; and one for manual flight. The manual flight limit was set correctly at 49ft; while the autonomous flight limit was left at 400ft AGL. During a review of procedures and settings; it was noted that this difference is not highlighted in any of the quick reference manuals that come with the UAS. Instead; it is buried in the manual for the ground control software. Internal procedures and trainings have been adjusted to note this difference with the intention to avoid any incursions with this specific aircraft.