History
On 10 December 2011, at 1028 Newfoundland and Labrador Standard Time, an Exploits Valley Air Services Hawker Beechcraft 1900D aircraft (registration C-GLHO, serial number UE-266), operating as Air Canada Express flight EV7645, was conducting a scheduled passenger flight from Gander to Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, with 2 crew members and 13 passengers on board. After the crew began the take-off roll on Runway 21, they noted that the control column was stuck in the full forward position. The take-off was rejected at 119 knots, with more than 7000 feet of runway remaining. The aircraft was not damaged, and there were no injuries.
Investigation
The aircraft had been parked outside on 08 December 2011 and exposed to westerly winds exceeding 30 knots, with gusts over 50 knots. It remained outside until 10 December, when it was towed into the hangar for a daily maintenance inspection. After the inspection, it was towed back outside with insignificant winds. The first officer conducted a pre-flight inspection, and the crew carried out the run-up at the hangar before taxiing to the terminal for boarding. During the after-start checks, they verbally confirmed that the flight controls were checked.
During the take-off roll, upon reaching rotation speed of 112 knots, the crew could not pull the control column aft from the full forward position. After deplaning passengers, the crew taxied back to the hangar. While taxiing, they managed to free the column with additional force, but full nose-down elevator movement was then restricted.
Examination revealed damage to the bob-weight, the aft face of the bob-weight bellcrank mounting structure, and the stop-bolt bracket. The stop-bolt bracket face was deformed rearward and to the right. The investigation determined that the elevator control became stuck because the bob-weight jammed on the stop bolt. This resulted from the elevators being repeatedly slammed down when the aircraft was parked outside without gust locks installed in gusty winds.
Findings
No elevator control check was performed during the daily maintenance inspection or the after-start checks, leaving the stuck condition undetected until rotation. The flight crew were unaware of the requirement to report such incidents to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) and did not preserve cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorder data. The TSB identified that the design of the stop-bolt bracket, which contacts the bob-weight on its left edge, increases the risk of the bob-weight traveling beyond its normal range under abnormal forces.
The aircraft had no known deficiencies before the flight. The crew were certified and qualified, and fatigue was not considered a factor.