Tecnam P2012 Traveller flight crew reported malfunction with aileron roll trim. Flight crew returned to the departure airport and landed safely.

Date: 2025-09 · Aircraft: Tecnam P2012 Traveller · Phase: climb

Anomalies: aircraft-equipment-problem-critical

Synopsis

Tecnam P2012 Traveller flight crew reported malfunction with aileron roll trim. Flight crew returned to the departure airport and landed safely.

Narrative

On Day 0; I was pilot monitoring and my FO; Person A was pilot flying. All the system was working well during the previous flight and during the engine start/ run-up. We picked up our IFR clearance on the ground. After departing from runway XX; Person A shared that the flight control was moving to the left on its own and I noticed the aileron roll trim had runaway to the extreme left. The controls were getting heavy and I took over the controls. We turned the trim disc switch off but the plane still wanted to roll to the left. We made the decision to air return to ZZZ. When we checked in with ZZZ Center; we informed them that we needed to return to the field for a mechanical issue and canceled the IFR flight plan. We informed them that no additional assistance was required at the point and would reach out if we need any further assistance. Coming in to ZZZ; I struggled to fight the aileron roll with both hands as I approached runway XY (nearest runway) and Person A assisted with managing the throttle inputs. While turning towards runway XY; we increased the power on the LH and reduced the power on the RH to line up the aircraft with the runway. We landed the plane safely.Cause: Aileron roll trim.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.