ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 370572
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Sunday 12 March 2000 |
| Time: | 20:54 LT |
| Type: |  de Havilland Canada DHC-8-102 |
| Owner/operator: | Allegheny Airlines |
| Registration: | N838EX |
| MSN: | 220 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1990 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 25347 hours |
| Engine model: | P&W PW 120A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 32 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, MD (BWI/KBWI) -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Standing |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | New York-La Guardia Airport, NY (LGA/KLGA) |
| Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, MD (BWI/KBWI) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
During the flight, the airplane required full nose-down trim and forward pressure on the yoke to maintain level flight. As a result, a logbook entry was made, and inspection of the airplane revealed damage due to contact between the elevator and rudder. Examination of the elevator gust lock mechanism revealed that only three of four elevator stop bumpers were installed. The upper right bumper was missing, but the mount bolt was still in place. The upper left bumper was cracked, chipped, crazed, and displayed a longitudinal crack that ran its entire length. FDR data showed that when the airplane taxied onto the departure runway for the previous flight, the gust lock was released, and rapid deflection of the elevator control surfaces and the control yoke was noted. At the point where the control yoke returned to its nominal position, the LH and RH elevator graph lines were approximately 4 degrees apart. These lines remained separated by approximately 4 degrees throughout the remainder of the flight. Examination of prior flights revealed the elevator control surface graph lines were superimposed in all modes of flight. Winds at the departure airport were from 300 degrees at 22 knots, gusting to 27 knots. A product safety representative for the airplane manufacturer 'guaranteed' the airplane would have been undamaged during the rapid elevator deflection, had the elevator stop bumpers been installed.
Probable Cause: the missing elevator stop bumper that resulted in elevator over-travel and damage to the elevator. A factor in the incident was the abrupt release of the elevator control lock in windy conditions.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB IAD00IA026
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Mar-2024 12:05 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation