ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 230478
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| Date: | Wednesday 6 November 2019 |
| Time: | c. 21:10 LT |
| Type: |  Embraer ERJ-175LR (ERJ-170-200 LR) |
| Owner/operator: | American Eagle, opb Republic Airlines |
| Registration: | N117HQ |
| MSN: | 17000184 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2007 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 9 |
| Aircraft damage: | Unknown |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | near Atlanta, GA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, GA (ATL/KATL) |
| New York-La Guardia Airport, NY (LGA/KLGA) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
American Eagle flight AA4439 returned to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Georgia, USA, after suffering severe controllability issues after takeoff.
The flight took off from runway 09L at 21:05 hours LT (02:05 UTC, Nov. 7). Shortly afterward the flight crew radioed an emergency and reported they were in a "stalling situation". They later stated having difficulty trying to descend. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Tower controller tried to assist the flight to return to the airport.
After the flight crew regained control, the aircraft was vectored for a landing on runway 10.
Examination revealed chafed insulation around wires connecting the horizontal stabilizer actuator control electronics to the captain’s pitch trim switch and autopilot/trim disconnect button. The chafing was caused by contact with the incorrectly untucked pigtail of the forward mechanical stop bolt safety wire. Also when the captain’s pitch trim switch was removed from the yoke, marks were observed that indicated at some point before the incident flight, the pitch trim switch had been installed in an inverted position
Probable Cause:
The captain’s use of his pitch trim switch, which had been placarded inoperative but not deactivated, resulting in the airplane pitching up when the captain was trying to trim down.
The trim commands were reversed due to maintenance personnel’s incorrect installation of the pitch trim switch. Contributing to the incident was the operator’s delay in incorporating SB 170-27-0051 which would have prevented the switch from being installed inverted.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N117HQ/history/20191107/0204Z/KATL/KATL
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n117hq#22c0ef6c
LiveATC audio: https://forums.liveatc.net/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=15644.0;attach=10547
NTSB Safety recommendations 29-Jan-2020: https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/nr20200129b.aspx
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=100540
Location
Images:
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 08-Nov-2019 13:31 | harro | Added |
| 08-Nov-2019 13:36 | harro | Updated [Narrative] |
| 08-Nov-2019 13:41 | harro | Updated [Total occupants, Source, Narrative, Photo] |
| 09-Nov-2019 19:41 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 29-Jan-2020 20:21 | harro | Updated [Source] |
| 28-Mar-2020 08:08 | harro | Updated [Total occupants] |
| 16-Aug-2022 15:50 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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