The asymptotic expansion of solutions of the differential equation
u
iv
+λ
2
[(z
2
+
c
)
u"
+
azu
'+
bu
]=0 for large IzI
The asymptotic expansion of solutions of the fourth order differential equation u iv + λ 2 [( z 2 + c ) u " + azu ' + bu ] = 0 are investigated for | z | -> oo where the parameters a, b, c and λ are supposed to be arbitrary complex constants with λ, b ^ 0. Exact solutions in the form of Laplace and Mellin-Barnes integrals, involving a Whittaker function and a Gauss hypergeometric function respectively, are used to define a fundamental system of solutions. The asymptotic expansion of these solutions is obtained in a full neighbourhood of the point at infinity and their asymptotic character is found to be either exponentially large or algebraic in certain sectors of the z -plane. The expansions corresponding to certain special values of the parameters a and b which yield logarithmic expansions are also treated. Linear combinations of these fundamental solutions which possess an exponentially small expansion for | z |->oo in a certain sector are discussed.