Aviation Safety Investigation Report - Final

The pilot in command of the Fairchild Industries SA-227 aircraft, registered VH-HPE, operating a scheduled Regular Public Transport flight, reported that excessive forward control column force had been required 'to trim the aircraft nose down' during departure from Sydney Airport.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau did not conduct an on-scene investigation of this occurrence.

Aircraft maintenance contractor

As a result of this occurrence, the aircraft maintenance contractor has highlighted the occurrence to all engineering staff and required all maintenance engineers to re-familiarise themselves with procedures in relation to critical maintenance tasks, including duplicate inspections.

Aircraft operator

The aircraft operator published an alert to all company pilots reminding them of their responsibility to confirm the correct sense of aircraft flight control systems prior to departure. The operator also instigated a formal mechanism for crews to apply MEL conditions when operating at a remote aerodrome.

Civil Aviation Safety Authority

As a result of this and other similar occurrences, the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority advised the US Federal Aviation Administration of the occurrences and published an article titled Nose up, nose down regarding trim switches in the November/December 2004 issue of Flight Safety Australia magazine. The article analyses the cause of these failures and highlights the importance of maintaining switches and following correct procedures to prevent similar occurrences.