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During their flight control check during taxi out the flight crew of an A321 discovered the rudder and rudder pedals were fully displaced to the left despite the trim indicator showing about zero.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 985819 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201112 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Tower |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Dusk |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | A321 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Taxi |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Rudder Control System |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical |
Narrative:
When we performed the flight control check on taxi out the elevator and aileron were normal but the rudder and rudder pedals were fully displaced to the left. The ECAM page for the ftctl showed the same. The rudder trim indicator on the center console indicated approximately zero. We contacted maintenance control and they requested that we return to the gate where we were met by mechanics; one of whom was specifically looking at the rudder as we pulled into the gate. The mechanics checked the faults internal to the mcdu and found no faults. They exercised the rudder to no avail as it remained fully displaced to the left. Then they reset the two facs [flight augmentation computers]. After doing so the rudder trim indicator indicated 20.0 left (full left trim. On the initial taxi out it had indicated approximately zero with full left rudder displacement). They reset the trim following which the rudder and the rudder pedals operated and indicated normally.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: During their flight control check during taxi out the flight crew of an A321 discovered the rudder and rudder pedals were fully displaced to the left despite the trim indicator showing about zero.
Narrative: When we performed the flight control check on taxi out the elevator and aileron were normal but the rudder and rudder pedals were fully displaced to the left. The ECAM page for the FTCTL showed the same. The rudder trim indicator on the center console indicated approximately zero. We contacted Maintenance Control and they requested that we return to the gate where we were met by mechanics; one of whom was specifically looking at the rudder as we pulled into the gate. The mechanics checked the FAULTS internal to the MCDU and found no faults. They exercised the rudder to no avail as it remained fully displaced to the left. Then they reset the two FACs [Flight Augmentation Computers]. After doing so the rudder trim indicator indicated 20.0 LEFT (Full left trim. On the initial taxi out it had indicated approximately zero with full left rudder displacement). They reset the trim following which the rudder and the rudder pedals operated and indicated normally.
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.