37000 Feet

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At some point during preflight and passenger boarding; a G200 flight crew reports the rudder trim becoming adjusted far to the right. This is not detected prior to takeoff resulting in difficult handling for the pilot flying. Once level at 3;000 feet the cause is detected and corrected.

Narrative:

During the takeoff roll; at rotation; the aircraft turned to the right. I pitched slightly forward to gain airspeed. The aircraft kept turning to the right and we asked the controller for a new heading. As I wasn't able to turn the aircraft to the left and being at a safe altitude; I briefly transferred controls to my partner to see if he would have a better result; which he did not. As soon as I did this I scanned the trims and observed the rudder trim well to the right of center. I called this out to my partner; took the controls back. He centered the trim; restoring normal flying characteristics. We got amended departure instructions from departure and continued on to destination.there were several factors that contributed to this event. The departure FBO had so many lineman coming to the airplane there were many more interruptions than normal. Three lineman brought the catering; three lineman were involved in servicing the lavatory; etc. The suggestion here is to have a personal method of managing interruptions; whether that means starting the checklist over or going back to a point that has obviously been completed. Checklist 'mindfulness' is also all important.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: At some point during preflight and passenger boarding; a G200 flight crew reports the rudder trim becoming adjusted far to the right. This is not detected prior to takeoff resulting in difficult handling for the pilot flying. Once level at 3;000 feet the cause is detected and corrected.

Narrative: During the takeoff roll; at rotation; the aircraft turned to the right. I pitched slightly forward to gain airspeed. The aircraft kept turning to the right and we asked the controller for a new heading. As I wasn't able to turn the aircraft to the left and being at a safe altitude; I briefly transferred controls to my partner to see if he would have a better result; which he did not. As soon as I did this I scanned the trims and observed the rudder trim well to the right of center. I called this out to my partner; took the controls back. He centered the trim; restoring normal flying characteristics. We got amended departure instructions from Departure and continued on to destination.There were several factors that contributed to this event. The departure FBO had so many lineman coming to the airplane there were many more interruptions than normal. Three lineman brought the catering; three lineman were involved in servicing the lavatory; etc. The suggestion here is to have a personal method of managing interruptions; whether that means starting the checklist over or going back to a point that has obviously been completed. Checklist 'mindfulness' is also all important.

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.