Narrative:

Normal flight; during approach; ATC originally assigned us [runway] 35R; and then later offered us vectors to [runway] 35L. We accepted [runway] 35L. When we were on a dogleg to final approach; I (pilot flying) disconnected the autopilot and after about 5 seconds; I noticed something didn't feel right with the controls. I instructed the first officer to take control of the aircraft and tell me what he felt. We agreed that the aileron control was very loose; and was abruptly jerking the plane.at this point we became concerned with the safety of the flight. We were on about a 5 mile final to [runway] 35L; and the aileron control effectiveness decreased significantly. At this point; we were [in a] dire situation to land the plane. We did not declare an emergency because we were so close to landing/time constraint. I communicated to the first officer that my plan was to get the plane on the ground immediately; rather than performing a go-around to further troubleshoot. We agreed this was our best option given the deteriorating situation. The wind was approximately 15 KT crosswind from the east. I carried extra speed in the approach/flare for better rudder effectiveness. We landed without incident. Touchdown was in the touchdown zone on center line; although we were in a cross controlled situation. After clearing the runway I noticed that aileron input on the yoke felt completely disconnected. We taxied to our gate; where we notified maintenance of our problem. Control surface failure - fortunately; we didn't reach this point. Had we been further away from the airport; the outcome may have been bad. As the captain; and pilot flying; I could have better communicated our dire situation to the first officer. I was so consumed with getting the aircraft on the ground; that the first officer didn't initially realize how critical our situation was. It wasn't until we cleared the runway; and the first officer saw that my yoke was completely disconnected from the system that he realized what had happened. This was due to my poor communication in the moment; and our proximity to the airport/ground. Given the situation; we both agreed that we handled our threat with the best interest of safety.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: After disconnecting the autopilot on a visual approach; the Captain realized that neither pilot's yoke had normal aileron input. Being close to the airport; they landed the aircraft in this configuration.

Narrative: Normal flight; during approach; ATC originally assigned us [Runway] 35R; and then later offered us vectors to [Runway] 35L. We accepted [Runway] 35L. When we were on a dogleg to final approach; I (pilot flying) disconnected the autopilot and after about 5 seconds; I noticed something didn't feel right with the controls. I instructed the First Officer to take control of the aircraft and tell me what he felt. We agreed that the aileron control was very loose; and was abruptly jerking the plane.At this point we became concerned with the safety of the flight. We were on about a 5 mile final to [Runway] 35L; and the aileron control effectiveness decreased significantly. At this point; we were [in a] dire situation to land the plane. We did not declare an emergency because we were so close to landing/time constraint. I communicated to the First Officer that my plan was to get the plane on the ground immediately; rather than performing a go-around to further troubleshoot. We agreed this was our best option given the deteriorating situation. The wind was approximately 15 KT crosswind from the east. I carried extra speed in the approach/flare for better rudder effectiveness. We landed without incident. Touchdown was in the touchdown zone on center line; although we were in a cross controlled situation. After clearing the runway I noticed that aileron input on the yoke felt completely disconnected. We taxied to our gate; where we notified Maintenance of our problem. Control Surface Failure - fortunately; we didn't reach this point. Had we been further away from the airport; the outcome may have been bad. As the Captain; and pilot flying; I could have better communicated our dire situation to the First Officer. I was so consumed with getting the aircraft on the ground; that the First Officer didn't initially realize how critical our situation was. It wasn't until we cleared the runway; and the First Officer saw that my yoke was completely disconnected from the system that he realized what had happened. This was due to my poor communication in the moment; and our proximity to the airport/ground. Given the situation; we both agreed that we handled our threat with the best interest of safety.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.