Narrative:

At XA12, flight departed runway 30 at iad,, bound for alb. The first officer was PF. At 400 ft AGL, the first officer said she was having trouble controling the aircraft. It wanted to maintain a nose-up pitch attitude with full nose down trim. The trim wheel had rolled to the full nose down position and stopped running. After checking the airspeed and aircraft attitude, I determined the aircraft was in no immediate danger, so I began to troubleshoot. I turned the electric trim switch to off and manually reset the pitch trim to the takeoff position. She said this fixed the problem. I then briefed the flight attendant and informed her that we would be returning to iad. I assumed the PF duties and noticed no abnormal control issues. We returned to iad due to the concern expressed by my first officer about the trim situation. She said 'it felt like it was rigged backwards.' the approach and landing were completed successfully and no other defects were noted. I did not declare an emergency because I could not find anything wrong with the aircraft. The controls, including the trim all functioned normally. I did not notify company dispatch of our return to the airport until we were back on the ground due to the high workload and short flight time (approximately 4 1/2 mins). After returning to iad, I performed a maintenance acceptance flight on the aircraft with a mechanic on board. We could not duplicate the situation. The aircraft was returned to service.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A JETSTREAM 41 ON TKOF CLB AT 400 FT RETURNED TO THE FIELD DUE TO NO NOSE DOWN TRIM. CHKED BY MAINT, FOUND OK FOR SVC. TEST FLT OK.

Narrative: AT XA12, FLT DEPARTED RWY 30 AT IAD,, BOUND FOR ALB. THE FO WAS PF. AT 400 FT AGL, THE FO SAID SHE WAS HAVING TROUBLE CTLING THE ACFT. IT WANTED TO MAINTAIN A NOSE-UP PITCH ATTITUDE WITH FULL NOSE DOWN TRIM. THE TRIM WHEEL HAD ROLLED TO THE FULL NOSE DOWN POS AND STOPPED RUNNING. AFTER CHKING THE AIRSPD AND ACFT ATTITUDE, I DETERMINED THE ACFT WAS IN NO IMMEDIATE DANGER, SO I BEGAN TO TROUBLESHOOT. I TURNED THE ELECTRIC TRIM SWITCH TO OFF AND MANUALLY RESET THE PITCH TRIM TO THE TKOF POS. SHE SAID THIS FIXED THE PROB. I THEN BRIEFED THE FLT ATTENDANT AND INFORMED HER THAT WE WOULD BE RETURNING TO IAD. I ASSUMED THE PF DUTIES AND NOTICED NO ABNORMAL CTL ISSUES. WE RETURNED TO IAD DUE TO THE CONCERN EXPRESSED BY MY FO ABOUT THE TRIM SIT. SHE SAID 'IT FELT LIKE IT WAS RIGGED BACKWARDS.' THE APCH AND LNDG WERE COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY AND NO OTHER DEFECTS WERE NOTED. I DID NOT DECLARE AN EMER BECAUSE I COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE ACFT. THE CTLS, INCLUDING THE TRIM ALL FUNCTIONED NORMALLY. I DID NOT NOTIFY COMPANY DISPATCH OF OUR RETURN TO THE ARPT UNTIL WE WERE BACK ON THE GND DUE TO THE HIGH WORKLOAD AND SHORT FLT TIME (APPROX 4 1/2 MINS). AFTER RETURNING TO IAD, I PERFORMED A MAINT ACCEPTANCE FLT ON THE ACFT WITH A MECH ON BOARD. WE COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE SIT. THE ACFT WAS RETURNED TO SVC.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.