AN MD11F ACFT OUTBOARD AILERONS WOULD NOT 'FAIR' AFTER TKOFS OR LNDGS.
Synopsis
AN MD11F ACFT OUTBOARD AILERONS WOULD NOT 'FAIR' AFTER TKOFS OR LNDGS.
Narrative
I WAS THE CAPT OF A 2-MAN CREW PLUS MECH AND LOADMASTER OF THE ACFT X OPERATING INTERNATIONALLY. ONE OF THE OPEN MEL'S REFERRED TO THE DEFLECTED AILERON SYS; AN MEL THAT HAD RESULTED FROM A MALFUNCTION THAT I HAD EXPERIENCED ON A FLT APPROX 2 WKS PRIOR. IN A DISCUSSION WITH MY ONBOARD MECH IT WAS UNDERSTOOD THAT A PART HAD BEEN CHANGED THE DAY PRIOR THAT SHOULD HAVE FIXED THE ISSUE BUT THE ACFT SYS HAD NOT BEEN PROPERLY RECONFIGURED FOR OP. MY MECH HAD RECONFIGURED THE SYS; GND CHKED HIS WORK BUT WANTED TO FLT CHK THE FIX PRIOR TO SIGNOFF. SINCE THE WX WAS GOOD AND OUR LOAD WOULD ALLOW US TO RETURN WITHOUT DUMPING FUEL OR DECLARING AN EMER; I AGREED TO THE FLT CHK. AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT (BAD LUCK); ON DEP CLB; THE OUTBOARD AILERONS WOULD NOT RETRACT; REQUIRING A RETURN TO THE DEP ARPT. RETURN AND LNDG WERE UNEVENTFUL WITH NO DISRUPTION TO LCL TFC AND NO EMER WAS DECLARED. THE 'DEFLECTED AILERON' SYS WAS RECONFIGURED AND WE DEPARTED WITH ONLY A MINOR DELAY UNDER THE EXISTING MEL. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 761772: DURING CLBOUT OUR ACFT EXPERIENCED A FLT CTL ABNORMALITY. THE DEFLECTED AILERONS WOULD NOT RETRACT. WE ELECTED TO RETURN TO OUR DEP ARPT. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THE OUTBOARD AILERONS ARE DESIGNED TO DEFLECT DOWNWARDS DURING TKOF AND LNDGS WHEN THE FLAP HANDLE IS MOVED AFT AND THE FLAPS HAVE TRAVELED PAST 8 DEGS DOWN. HOWEVER; ON THIS ACFT THE OUTBOARD AILERONS WOULD NOT 'FAIR' AND CONTINUED TO REMAIN DEFLECTED DOWN AFTER THE FLAPS HAD RETRACTED. AILERON ROLL CTL WAS NOT AFFECTED; BUT FUEL BURN WOULD DEFINITELY BE IMPACTED IF FLOWN IN THIS CONFIGN. RPTR ALSO STATED THIS FLT WAS BASICALLY A TEST FLT TO VERIFY IF THE REPLACED PART CORRECTED THE AILERON DROOP. HOWEVER; THE PROB REMAINED. MAINT HAD TO MANUALLY DEACTIVATE THE AILERON DEFLECTION SYS TO 'FAIR' THE AILERONS TO THE WING TRAILING EDGE. THIS DEACTIVATION DOES NOT AFFECT THE AILERON ROLL CTL.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.