Flight control malfunction

scooter2525

scooter2525

Very well Member
I'm studding for the ATP and one of the questions asks about NTSB reports and flight control malfunction. I think this is probably one of my largest concerns in aviation. In college, a lot of accident studies were covered, but none attributed flight control failure as one of them. Has anyone seen an accident that was due to a cable snapping or something along those lines?

I've heard of ailerons being installed in reverse, and I guess there is that video on the 'net that has an airbus go into a forest during a demonstration...
 
OHHHH I remember that accident. I was in Cbus when it happened at LCK.

On the Airbus failure, what was the cause of accident?
 
Boris Badenov said:
IMS, the Captain didn't engage "TOGA Mode". Thus, though he gave it radar power, the computer thought he was just kidding and in to the trees they went. This is, again, IMS.
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The 'bus went into the trees because the Capt sat there doing a slow speed pass in idle and with early CFM-56s which were NOTORIOUSLY slow to spool up. The computers had NOTHING to do with deciding anything. He was in a landing configuration, low (so the alpha floor was biased out), did not know what the airplane was doing and responded too late to a low,slow event. When he FINALLY pushed up the thrust levers he was already in the trees. DUH...


(old joke..the difference between a 320 and a chain saw... 120 trees a minute)
 
There's one that was in AOPA Magazine within the last year of an pilot here in Idaho that had the Chain that links the dual controls together come off or something like that. Had partial control of the elevator and almost no aileron control. Rudder worked fine. I remember that he survived but I think the airplane was totaled. Can't find the NTSB report.
 
scooter2525 said:
I'm studding for the ATP and one of the questions asks about NTSB reports and flight control malfunction. I think this is probably one of my largest concerns in aviation. In college, a lot of accident studies were covered, but none attributed flight control failure as one of them. Has anyone seen an accident that was due to a cable snapping or something along those lines?

I've heard of ailerons being installed in reverse, and I guess there is that video on the 'net that has an airbus go into a forest during a demonstration...
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Ask AF one morning about how his trim was rigged backwards in the Chieftain once.

Dude is lucky to be alive, but Amflight is also lucky that it happened to one of their best pilots.
 
I can think of at least a couple of flight control accidents that were pretty famous (UA 232, and an F-15 with elevator rods installed backwards), but no cable breaks. The NTSB website allows you to do a key word search, but unfortunately, almost every accident says something like "flight control cables were examined..." so it turns up too many results to be useful.
 
The United flight 232 accident in 1989 comes immediately to mind. The DC-10 suffered an uncontained catastrophic failure of the #2 engine which hurled shrapnel through the aircraft's flight control hydraulic lines. Each of the redundant flight control systems lost all hydraulic pressure resulting in an inability of the crew to manipulate any of the aircraft's flight controls. Upon attempting an emergency landing in Sioux City, IA, the aircraft broke up and a significant number of passengers lost their lives.

This case is a very interesting study of exemplary crew coordination and CRM. By thinking outside the bun, the crew was able to save the lives of 174 passengers and 10 crew members.
 
Other accidents due to a loss of flight controls (Wikipedia UA 232 page):

  • In 1985, Japan Airlines flight 123, a Boeing 747, suffered a rupture of the pressure bulkhead in its tail section. The damage was extensive and caused the loss of fluid in all four of its hydraulic control systems. The pilots were able to keep the plane airborne for almost 30 minutes using differential engine power, but eventually control was lost and the plane crashed in mountainous terrain. There were only 4 survivors among the 524 on board.
  • In 1981, an Eastern Airlines L-1011 (also a 3-engine airliner) suffered a similar kind of massive failure of its number two engine. The shrapnel from that engine inflicted damage on all four of its hydraulic systems, which were also close together in the tail structure. However, fluid was lost in only 3 of the 4 systems. While the fourth hydraulic system was impacted with shrapnel too, it was not punctured. The hydraulic pressure remaining in that fourth system enabled the captain to land the plane safely with some limited use of the outboard spoilers, the inboard ailerons and the horizontal stabilizer, plus differential engine power of the remaining two engines. There were no injuries.
  • In 1971, a Pan American 747 struck approach light structures for the reciprocal runway as it lifted off the runway at San Francisco Airport. Major damage to the belly and landing gear resulted, which caused the loss of hydraulic fluid from 3 of its 4 flight control systems. The fluid which remained in the 4th system gave the captain very limited control of some of the spoilers, ailerons and one inboard elevator. That was sufficient to circle the plane while fuel was dumped and then to make a rather hard landing. There were no fatalities, but there were some injuries.
  • In 2003, OO-DLL, a DHL Airbus A300 was struck by a surface-to-air missile shortly after departing from Baghdad International Airport, Iraq. The missile struck the portside wing, rupturing fuel lines and causing the loss of all three hydraulic systems. With the flight controls disabled the crew was able to use differential thrust to execute a safe landing at Baghdad. This is the first and only documented time anyone has managed to land a transport aircraft safely without working flight controls.
  • In 1994, RA85656, a Tupolev Tu-154 operating as Baikal Airlines Flight 130 crashed near Irkutsk shortly after departing from Irkutsk Airport, Russia. Damage to the starter caused a fire in engine number two (located in the rear of fuselage). High temperatures during the fire destroyed the tanks and pipes of all three hydraulic systems. The crew lost control of the aircraft. The unmanageable plane, at a speed of 275 knots, hit the ground at a dairy farm and burned. All passengers and crew, as well as a dairyman on the ground, died.
 
fish314 said:
I can think of at least a couple of flight control accidents that were pretty famous (UA 232, and an F-15 with elevator rods installed backwards), but no cable breaks. The NTSB website allows you to do a key word search, but unfortunately, almost every accident says something like "flight control cables were examined..." so it turns up too many results to be useful.
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Wouldn't that show up on a typical controls check on the ground? Or is that not standard checks on all aircraft.
 
ColoradoPilot said:
Wouldn't that show up on a typical controls check on the ground? Or is that not standard checks on all aircraft.
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It seems like we're almost talking about two different things here. Improperly rigged/installed flight control linkage really doesn't classify as a "flight control malfunction" in my book - more of a maintenance issue. In order for the controls to malfunction, they have to function properly at some point in the flight.

A flight control check is standard on every type I've flown - civil and military.

The first problem is that an aircraft with improperly rigged flight controls was allowed to pass through quality control and technical inspection and end up on the flight line. There are many types of aircraft where a visual inspection of the flight control surfaces by the pilot while conducting a flight control travel check just isn't feasible. On many military aircraft the visual inspection is done by a ground crew member while the pilot wiggles the sticks. Thorough maintenance and preflight procedures should eliminate all problems with improperly rigged controls.

A flight control failure in flight is an entirely different issue. In the case of UA 232 it seems like there was nothing the crew could have done to prevent that accident from occurring. The fact that anybody lived through it is a testament to the skill and perseverance of that flight crew. Depending on the mode of failure, it certainly can have catastrophic results.
 
Ollie said:
It seems like we're almost talking about two different things here. Improperly rigged/installed flight control linkage really doesn't classify as a "flight control malfunction" in my book - more of a maintenance issue. In order for the controls to malfunction, they have to function properly at some point in the flight.

A flight control check is standard on every type I've flown - civil and military.

The first problem is that an aircraft with improperly rigged flight controls was allowed to pass through quality control and technical inspection and end up on the flight line. There are many types of aircraft where a visual inspection of the flight control surfaces by the pilot while conducting a flight control travel check just isn't feasible. On many military aircraft the visual inspection is done by a ground crew member while the pilot wiggles the sticks. Thorough maintenance and preflight procedures should eliminate all problems with improperly rigged controls.

A flight control failure in flight is an entirely different issue. In the case of UA 232 it seems like there was nothing the crew could have done to prevent that accident from occurring. The fact that anybody lived through it is a testament to the skill and perseverance of that flight crew. Depending on the mode of failure, it certainly can have catastrophic results.
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I agree they are two different issues, and thanks for the answer on the checklist, it's on every (5) different types of airplanes, single and multiple, that I've flown as well
 
BaronPete said:
I just read the CVR of this accident...chilling. :(
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I do find it interesting that so many NTSB reports blame the pilot (even if in part) for anything thatbcould POSSIBLY be seen or checked. Saw it once on a cracked manifold incident. Pilot "should" have seen it on a preflight.

So another question, has anyone ever checked the or trim for proper operation prior to a flight?
 
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