Narrative:

During a thru flight stop; a flight attendant told me she heard a loud noise in the tail section that sounded like a thumping that was continuous. The aircraft had had a lightning strike a few days prior to our flight. Maintenance had also done some flight control repairs prior to our flight. I decided to call dispatch and through them maintenance control. I had the first officer move the rudder and I listened to see if I could hear the noise; which I did. Contract maintenance was called and the plane was taken out of service.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: During an enroute stop a Flight Attendant reported a continuous 'thumping' noise in the aft body. The flight crew determined it to be related to rudder operation and; having occurred subsequent to recent flight control maintenance at the previous stop; it was deemed unfit for service.

Narrative: During a thru flight stop; a Flight Attendant told me she heard a loud noise in the tail section that sounded like a thumping that was continuous. The aircraft had had a lightning strike a few days prior to our flight. Maintenance had also done some flight control repairs prior to our flight. I decided to call Dispatch and through them Maintenance Control. I had the First Officer move the rudder and I listened to see if I could hear the noise; which I did. Contract Maintenance was called and the plane was taken out of service.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.