What happened
During the takeoff roll, the nose of the aircraft lifted off the ground prematurely. The pilot attempted to correct the pitch by applying electric nose-down trim; however, the controls provided no response. As a result, the aircraft climbed approximately 50 feet above the ground with the pilot unable to lower the nose.
To prevent further complications, the pilot elected to abort the takeoff. During the aborted attempt, the aircraft experienced a hard landing on the runway, veered to the right, and departed the prepared surface. The excursion resulted in the aircraft striking three taxiway lights and one taxiway sign. There were no injuries reported.
The investigation
An examination of the aircraft's electric elevator trim indicator was conducted. Investigators discovered that the indicator had malfunctioned due to a binding guide/lodging pin. This binding caused the indicator to disconnect from its track. Consequently, while the indicator was displaying a full nose-down position, the actual elevator trim tab remained in a full nose-up position.