Narrative:

Maintenance write up in logbook was captain's rubber pad on left rudder pedal needs reattaching; (I can't remember exact wording). Captain's left rudder pedal rubber pad that covers metal apparently for traction on pedal to avoid slippage of foot under pressure. The result of maintenance action; fix; or work completed by maintenance personal. Maintenance signed off logbook as reattached; ok for flight operations. On taxi out all procedures and checklists were completed in particular the flight control check to confirm proper rudder control. Once cleared for takeoff the take off roll was normal; wind was gusting and attention was given to that. Still normal conditions I felt. However where it went wrong was right after liftoff. What I consider more pressure was going to be needed for control because of the current wind conditions was apply to the rudder pedals to control the aircraft was given. At that point the maintenance fix to the left rudder rubber pad came loose and caused my left foot slip a considerable amount to cause a moment of a control issue. At some point I was able to get my foot in a position as to regain any control that was lost; back in control. We are talking about split seconds during this time. I did not even have time to communicate with my co-captain what was happening even though a second after it all took place I believe he did comment. Once safely airborne my co-captain and myself had a discussion about how to continue rest of flight. We decided rather than return to the departure airport and put the passengers and aircraft in a situation of a heavy overweight landing (which would possibly require extreme rudder pressures due to a heavy landing weight) that we would continue to our destination; discuss and evaluate situation and communicate with dispatch on the issues. On landing we decided even though it appeared that my the captain's rudder pedal was usable it was not up to our air carrier's safety standards of meeting and exceeding all safety standards. So out of my (the captain) concern; I made the decision to have the first officer (co-captain ) land the aircraft just in case of any issues; engine failure etc. Its this captain's opinion that strongly feels that safety conditions at our air carrier are being affected by the huge push from the top personal to get the aircraft out on time for financial incentives. I know they would care first about the safety of our passengers and aircraft. However I don't think they are possibly aware of what really is happening out on the line. I find myself having to watch and double check everything that may be a flight safety issue. However; the the culture of our air carrier's workplace still feels terribly rushed to get the aircraft off the gate!!! So in conclusion; in order to make it all safer when any issue comes up at the gate; no repercussions or discipline to employees will happen; for a simple late gate departure.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A320 Captain's rudder pedal rubber friction pad came off on takeoff in a cross wind with a rudder correction applied causing a momentary loss of control until the Captain's foot reestablished rudder contact.

Narrative: Maintenance write up in logbook was Captain's rubber pad on left rudder pedal needs reattaching; (I can't remember exact wording). Captain's left rudder pedal rubber pad that covers metal apparently for traction on pedal to avoid slippage of foot under pressure. The result of maintenance action; fix; or work completed by maintenance personal. Maintenance signed off logbook as reattached; OK for flight operations. On Taxi out all procedures and checklists were completed In particular the flight control check to confirm proper rudder control. Once cleared for takeoff the take off roll was normal; wind was gusting and attention was given to that. Still normal conditions I felt. However where it went wrong was right after liftoff. What I consider more pressure was going to be needed for control because of the current wind conditions WAS apply to the rudder PEDALS to control the aircraft was given. At that point the maintenance fix to the left rudder rubber pad came loose and caused my left foot slip a considerable amount to cause a moment of a control issue. At some point I was able to get my foot in a position as to regain any control that was lost; BACK IN CONTROL. We are talking about SPLIT seconds during this time. I did not even have time to communicate with my Co-Captain what was happening even though a second after it all took place I believe he did comment. Once safely airborne my Co-captain and myself had a discussion about how to continue rest of flight. We decided rather than return to the departure airport and put the passengers and aircraft in a situation of a heavy overweight landing (which would possibly require extreme rudder pressures due to a heavy landing weight) that we would continue to our destination; discuss and evaluate situation and communicate with dispatch on the issues. On landing we decided even though it appeared that my the Captain's rudder pedal was usable it was not up to our Air Carrier's SAFETY STANDARDS OF MEETING AND EXCEEDING ALL SAFETY STANDARDS. So out of MY (the CAPTAIN) concern; I made the decision to have the First Officer (Co-Captain ) land the aircraft just in case of any issues; engine failure etc. Its this Captain's opinion that strongly feels that SAFETY conditions at our Air Carrier are being affected by the huge push from the top personal to GET THE AIRCRAFT OUT ON TIME for financial incentives. I know they would care first about the Safety of our passengers and aircraft. However I don't think they are possibly aware of what really is happening out on the line. I find myself having to watch and double check everything that may be a flight safety issue. However; the the culture of our Air Carrier's workplace STILL FEELS TERRIBLY RUSHED to GET the aircraft off the gate!!! So in conclusion; in order to make it all SAFER when ANY issue comes up at the gate; no repercussions or discipline to employees will happen; for a simple late gate Departure.

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.