Incident Overview
Delta Air Lines Flight 1080 was a scheduled passenger service from San Diego, California, to Atlanta, Georgia. On April 12, 1977, during the San Diego to Los Angeles leg of the flight, an incident occurred involving the Lockheed L-1011 aircraft.
Sequence of Events
Unbeknownst to the flight crew, the left elevator of the L-1011 had become stuck in a fully upwards position. This caused the aircraft to pitch up aggressively, resulting in a loss of speed and a near-stall condition. The pitching force could not be overcome by fully pushing the control column downward.
Actions Taken
The crew counteracted the pitch-up by reducing thrust on the L-1011's wing engines while leaving the tail engine thrust unchanged. Additionally, all passengers were moved as far forward as possible in the cabin. This differential thrust and forward weight shift pitched the nose of the aircraft downward, allowing the pilots to regain control and land the aircraft. The entire incident lasted 55 minutes.