Narrative:

Captain was flying. We were landing on runway 35 at ZZZ airport. The wind was pretty much a direct left cross wind and a bit gusty. The ATIS was reporting the wind 260 degrees at 10 KTS. There seemed to be a very slight left quartering tailwind component in the flare. I had crosswind correction established left wing down and opposite rudder. The aircraft was tracking straight and touchdown was normal. Either just immediately before touchdown or at touchdown the control wheel felt very light in roll. There were no lights illuminated on the glare shield. During the roll out the first officer said 'we have a control disconnect.' I noted my wheel was full left and his was straight. After exiting the runway his wheel felt locked straight and my wheel was free. We manually disconnected and reconnected then the control wheels worked normally together. At the gate we tried another disconnect and exercised the control wheels together and opposite. All the lights operated normally as did the controls. We reconnected and again everything was normal after several unsuccessful attempts to contact maintenance control, I called on the land line. After consultation with maintenance control a write up was entered into the aircraft maintenance logbook. I discussed the situation with the on coming crew and aft aircraft. Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: the reporter stated the control wheel disconnect has been a recurring problem on this aircraft on one wheel or the other. The reporter said the problem in most cases cannot be duplicated on the ground by maintenance. The reporter stated four incidents of control wheel disconnect are known on our fleet and reports of other carriers experiencing this malfunction are known. The reporter stated one thing common in most reports is it generally occurs on approach in a crosswind landing. The reporter said the controls can be disconnected and reconnected manually but its normal function is to isolate the control wheels if one locks up.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A DEHAVILLAND 8-100 ON LNDG AT 20 FT AGL WITH CAPT FLYING HAS UNCOMMANDED CTL WHEEL DISCONNECT. FIRST OFFICERS LOCKED STRAIGHT.

Narrative: CAPT WAS FLYING. WE WERE LNDG ON RWY 35 AT ZZZ ARPT. THE WIND WAS PRETTY MUCH A DIRECT LEFT CROSS WIND AND A BIT GUSTY. THE ATIS WAS RPTING THE WIND 260 DEGS AT 10 KTS. THERE SEEMED TO BE A VERY SLIGHT LEFT QUARTERING TAILWIND COMPONENT IN THE FLARE. I HAD XWIND CORRECTION ESTABLISHED LEFT WING DOWN AND OPPOSITE RUDDER. THE ACFT WAS TRACKING STRAIGHT AND TOUCHDOWN WAS NORMAL. EITHER JUST IMMEDIATELY BEFORE TOUCHDOWN OR AT TOUCHDOWN THE CTL WHEEL FELT VERY LIGHT IN ROLL. THERE WERE NO LIGHTS ILLUMINATED ON THE GLARE SHIELD. DURING THE ROLL OUT THE FO SAID 'WE HAVE A CTL DISCONNECT.' I NOTED MY WHEEL WAS FULL LEFT AND HIS WAS STRAIGHT. AFTER EXITING THE RWY HIS WHEEL FELT LOCKED STRAIGHT AND MY WHEEL WAS FREE. WE MANUALLY DISCONNECTED AND RECONNECTED THEN THE CTL WHEELS WORKED NORMALLY TOGETHER. AT THE GATE WE TRIED ANOTHER DISCONNECT AND EXERCISED THE CTL WHEELS TOGETHER AND OPPOSITE. ALL THE LIGHTS OPERATED NORMALLY AS DID THE CTLS. WE RECONNECTED AND AGAIN EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL AFTER SEVERAL UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT MAINT CTL, I CALLED ON THE LAND LINE. AFTER CONSULTATION WITH MAINT CTL A WRITE UP WAS ENTERED INTO THE ACFT MAINT LOGBOOK. I DISCUSSED THE SIT WITH THE ON COMING CREW AND AFT ACFT. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR STATED THE CTL WHEEL DISCONNECT HAS BEEN A RECURRING PROB ON THIS ACFT ON ONE WHEEL OR THE OTHER. THE RPTR SAID THE PROB IN MOST CASES CANNOT BE DUPLICATED ON THE GND BY MAINT. THE RPTR STATED FOUR INCIDENTS OF CTL WHEEL DISCONNECT ARE KNOWN ON OUR FLEET AND RPTS OF OTHER CARRIERS EXPERIENCING THIS MALFUNCTION ARE KNOWN. THE RPTR STATED ONE THING COMMON IN MOST RPTS IS IT GENERALLY OCCURS ON APCH IN A XWIND LNDG. THE RPTR SAID THE CTLS CAN BE DISCONNECTED AND RECONNECTED MANUALLY BUT ITS NORMAL FUNCTION IS TO ISOLATE THE CTL WHEELS IF ONE LOCKS UP.

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.