Incident
Shortly after lift-off, the airplane began to roll to the left. The pilot countered the roll with right aileron input, and the left aileron was observed in the full up position. The captain decided to return and land at the departure airport. With snow on the runway, he elected to use 15 degrees of wing flaps until reaching 300 feet, then extended the flaps to 30 degrees. After flap extension, full right aileron was required to maintain control.
Examination
Post-flight inspection revealed that the left 'down' aileron cable, which controls downward movement, had broken. Additionally, the left 'up' aileron cable and both right aileron cables showed signs of wear and were replaced. Metallurgical examination of the cables found numerous worn strands.
Maintenance Background
A 'C' check and inspection of the aileron cables had been performed on December 20, 1992, approximately 580 flight hours before the incident. The inspection followed established procedures, which were found to lack detail. No service life had been established for the aileron control cables. The airplane, a 1968 model, had accumulated about 59,000 flight hours, and no record of previous cable replacement was found.