20160107000349I

Incident · No damage

FAA incident report · Cessna 560XL · St. Paul, MN · January 7, 2016

Date: January 7, 2016 · 09:30 local
Place: St. Paul, MN
Airport: St Paul Downtown Holman Fld
Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: No damage
Aircraft: N12L
Reported as: Cessna 560XL
Reported engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PW545 series
People aboard: 4
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificate: Airline transport
Pilot’s flight hours: 12,765 total70 in this make and model70 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

According to pilots while on climbout following departure from stp, aircraft pitched very high nose up. Excessive forward force was required to maintain pitch control by pushing control yoke all the way to the instrument panel. Pitch trim was rolled in until it stopped. Indicator was indicating full forward trim. As flaps were brought up the aircraft was more controllable but still required some forward pressure to maintain desired pitch. Pilots decided to return to stp and landed with 15 degrees of flaps instead of the normal full flaps. After landing, aircraft maintenance personnel determined that the pitch trim control wheel had broken causing an erroneous indication and limiting travel of the pitch trim.

As the FAA filed it

ACCORDING TO PILOTS WHILE ON CLIMBOUT FOLLOWING DEPARTURE FROM STP, AIRCRAFT PITCHED VERY HIGH NOSE UP. EXCESSIVE FORWARD FORCE WAS REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN PITCH CONTROL BY PUSHING CONTROL YOKE ALL THE WAY TO THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. PITCH TRIM WAS ROLLED IN UNTIL IT STOPPED. INDICATOR WAS INDICATING FULL FORWARD TRIM. AS FLAPS WERE BROUGHT UP THE AIRCRAFT WAS MORE CONTROLLABLE BUT STILL REQUIRED SOME FORWARD PRESSURE TO MAINTAIN DESIRED PITCH. PILOTS DECIDED TO RETURN TO STP AND LANDED WITH 15 DEGREES OF FLAPS INSTEAD OF THE NORMAL FULL FLAPS. AFTER LANDING, AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL DETERMINED THAT THE PITCH TRIM CONTROL WHEEL HAD BROKEN CAUSING AN ERRONEOUS INDICATION AND LIMITING TRAVEL OF THE PITCH TRIM.