Narrative:

The flight was without incident until I released the autopilot to begin hand flying the aircraft for landing. At that point the effort required to move the controls appeared to have increased and it no longer felt smooth throughout the normal in flight range of motion but was quit jerky. The resistance to movement was to the point that I thought that the autopilot might have still been connected. After a few checks of the autopilot to confirm that it was indeed disengaged; I was concerned that there was some type of issue with the controls. Because of the already close proximity to the ground; and the fact it didn't appear to be a jam; I elected to land.after arriving at the gate I consulted with the captain; at which time he delegated his authority in accordance with our fom which states 'the pilot in command may delegate authority to the second in command...' and I acted under my responsibilities to '...provide safe and comfortable air transportation; ensuring that all flights are conducted in accordance with established company policies and the federal aviation regulations...' as well as the section which states '...assist the pilot in command; as requested; in the performance of flight-related assignments; and perform other duties as assigned.' since I was the pilot most familiar with the flight control discrepancy I made a maintenance write up addressing the flight controls.starting that day both the captain and myself were unduly scrutinized about the maintenance entry. The captain was questioned immediately about the event and then later at check out. I was notified the last day of the trip to contact the chief pilot at which time I was made aware that I was facing disciplinary action and had a meeting assigned to me. Two days later; the company recontacted me and disrupted my scheduled day off which was also a holiday and reminded me about the already assigned meeting even though the actual meeting was 10 days away and I was scheduled for 4 days of work or 8 opportunities for a check in or check out message to remind me of the upcoming meeting.I am type-rated in the dhc-8 and was previously a captain with the company and am now a first officer; who has made write ups in the past as a first officer which benefited the company. I feel that the company is creating an environment in which maintenance write ups are discouraged even if they pose major safety concerns. The company's aggressive attitude and later discipline makes me feel as though they are trying to discourage not only myself but any pilot to make maintenance write ups that may disrupt their profitability. This is a grave safety concern to me as I know that being a small pilot group word will spread quickly that you will face certain scrutiny and punishment if you write up an aircraft that in your professional 'judgment' may have maintenance issues!

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A DHC-8 first officer wrote up a flight control issue utilizing his own identification number vice that of the PIC.

Narrative: The flight was without incident until I released the autopilot to begin hand flying the aircraft for landing. At that point the effort required to move the controls appeared to have increased and it no longer felt smooth throughout the normal in flight range of motion but was quit jerky. The resistance to movement was to the point that I thought that the autopilot might have still been connected. After a few checks of the autopilot to confirm that it was indeed disengaged; I was concerned that there was some type of issue with the controls. Because of the already close proximity to the ground; and the fact it didn't appear to be a jam; I elected to land.After arriving at the gate I consulted with the Captain; at which time he delegated his authority in accordance with our FOM which states 'The pilot in command may delegate authority to the second in command...' and I acted under my responsibilities to '...provide safe and comfortable air transportation; ensuring that all flights are conducted in accordance with established company policies and the Federal Aviation Regulations...' as well as the section which states '...assist the pilot in command; as requested; in the performance of flight-related assignments; and perform other duties as assigned.' Since I was the pilot most familiar with the flight control discrepancy I made a maintenance write up addressing the flight controls.Starting that day both the Captain and myself were unduly scrutinized about the maintenance entry. The Captain was questioned immediately about the event and then later at check out. I was notified the last day of the trip to contact the chief pilot at which time I was made aware that I was facing disciplinary action and had a meeting assigned to me. Two days later; the company recontacted me and disrupted my scheduled day off which was also a holiday and reminded me about the already assigned meeting even though the actual meeting was 10 days away and I was scheduled for 4 days of work or 8 opportunities for a check in or check out message to remind me of the upcoming meeting.I am type-rated in the DHC-8 and was previously a Captain with the company and am now a First Officer; who has made write ups in the past as a First Officer which benefited the company. I feel that the company is creating an environment in which maintenance write ups are discouraged even if they pose major safety concerns. The company's aggressive attitude and later discipline makes me feel as though they are trying to discourage not only myself but any pilot to make maintenance write ups that may disrupt their profitability. This is a grave safety concern to me as I know that being a small pilot group word will spread quickly that you will face certain scrutiny and punishment if you write up an aircraft that in your professional 'judgment' may have maintenance issues!

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.