What happened
During a visual approach to runway 15 at Lawrence Municipal Airport in Lawrence, Kansas, the crew of the aircraft experienced a sudden loss of pitch control. While the aircraft was flying with landing gear extended and full flaps at an altitude of roughly 15 to 20 feet, the nose abruptly pitched downward. The crew reported that the aircraft was traveling at approximately 115 knots when the nose drop occurred.
Both the pilot and the copilot attempted to recover by pulling back on the yoke, but they found that the elevator was unresponsive. The copilot noted that while the transition from the base leg to the final approach appeared normal with a stable glide path and an airspeed of 140 knots, the pitch-over occurred as power was reduced to idle. During the maneuver, the yoke appeared to reach a mechanical stop at approximately three-quarters of its full travel, preventing further back-pressure. The aircraft subsequently struck the runway with significant force before coming to a halt.
Findings
Following the landing, a post-flight inspection revealed that the stabilizer trim was positioned in a full nose-down configuration. Specifically, a preliminary examination of the aircraft showed the stabilizer set at 4 degrees nose down. Despite this trim position, an investigation into the aircraft's systems found no other mechanical anomalies.