# Incident 19970224009429I: Dhav DHC8311, Rapid City, SD, February 24, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 24, 1997, 14:36 local time
- Place: Rapid City, SD
- Airport: Rapid City Regional
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: Air carrier (Part 121)
- Operator: MASA
- Location: 44.0706° N, 103.2292° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.0706&lon=-103.2292&mi=10
- Aircraft: N430AW (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: DHAV DHC8311
- People aboard: 45
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 8,500 total, 2,000 in this make and model, 150 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI97IA074](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI97IA074) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970224009429I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: FLIGHT 7451 WAS IN CRUISE APPROXIMATELY 60 MILES FROM RAPID CITY, SD, WHEN THE ELEVATOR TRIM BECAME INEFFECTIVE. THE FLIGHT CREW THEN DISCOVERED THAT ELEVATOR TRIM WAS JAMMED. THE FLIGHT RETURNED TO RAPID CITY AND LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT. MAINTENANCE DETERMINED THAT THE CHAIN AND CABLE ASSEMBLY THAT IS PART OF THE AUTOPILOT/ELECTRIC TRIM SERVO MOTOR HAD COME APART WHERE THE CABLE ATTACHES TO THE CHAIN. THE RETAINER FOR THE LINK THAT CAME APART WAS NOT FOUND.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CHI97IA074](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI97IA074), Feb 24, 1997: de Havilland DHC-8-311 (N430AW), Rapid City, SD, incident, no damage. Probable cause: a missing 'C' clip, which resulted in the master link coming apart, allowing the electric elevator trim chain and cable to become entangled in the elevator trim cables.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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