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Flight crew experiences a right wing down rolling tendency as the aircraft accelerates to 250 knots after takeoff requiring 3.5 units of left wing down aileron trim. The aircraft had a history of similar flight control issues and the crew elects to return to the departure airport.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1211218 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201410 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001-0600 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.ARTCC |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | McDonnell Douglas Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Climb |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Aeroplane Flight Control |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Captain |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Person 2 | |
| Function | Pilot Not Flying First Officer |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Maintenance |
Narrative:
On climb out aircraft started rolling right as the speed increased. At 250 knots about 3.5 degrees of left wing down aileron trim was needed for level flight. This aircraft has a history of flight control problems. We felt it was unsafe to continue with the unknown flight control issue. We told center that we needed to return. Approach was notified of fuel and souls on board. Emergency equipment was standing by. We made an uneventful landing and reported the problem. This was a repeat maintenance issue on this airplane. There was a history of flight control problems. When no obvious solution could be found maintenance tried other remedies that did not address the real issue. This plane should not have been released until the real issue with the flight controls was addressed. When a serious maintenance issue such as flight controls comes up the maintenance department has to make sure the real problem is fixed and not just get the plane released. This could have been a very serious problem with a more serious outcome if this plane kept flying.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Flight crew experiences a right wing down rolling tendency as the aircraft accelerates to 250 knots after takeoff requiring 3.5 units of left wing down aileron trim. The aircraft had a history of similar flight control issues and the crew elects to return to the departure airport.
Narrative: On climb out aircraft started rolling right as the speed increased. At 250 knots about 3.5 degrees of left wing down aileron trim was needed for level flight. This aircraft has a history of flight control problems. We felt it was unsafe to continue with the unknown flight control issue. We told center that we needed to return. Approach was notified of fuel and souls on board. Emergency equipment was standing by. We made an uneventful landing and reported the problem. This was a repeat maintenance issue on this airplane. There was a history of flight control problems. When no obvious solution could be found maintenance tried other remedies that did not address the real issue. This plane should not have been released until the real issue with the flight controls was addressed. When a serious maintenance issue such as flight controls comes up the maintenance department has to make sure the real problem is fixed and not just get the plane released. This could have been a very serious problem with a more serious outcome if this plane kept flying.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.