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B737 flight crew reported lateral trim problems during a post maintenance check flight. Post flight inspection revealed a missing wing panel.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1610715 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201901 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B737 Next Generation Undifferentiated |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Climb |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Wing Access Panel |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Person 2 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Not Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Instrument |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe |
Narrative:
This was a [test flight] on aircraft X after heavy maintenance. As the pilot flying; after takeoff; I noticed the airplane required left aileron input in order to maintain heading. Continued the climb to 15;000 and leveled at 250 kias (knots indicated airspeed). Aircraft had slight vibration noted by maintenance observers in the passenger cabin as well as myself and the first officer. We started performing the normal trim checks per the fcf profile and noted as the flaps were being extended to each setting the aircraft required more and more left rudder trim in order to fly straight and the vibration became considerably worse. We elected to terminate the trim checks; cleaned up the aircraft; and decided to return to ZZZ and land using flaps 15. During post flight maintenance observers noted a panel on the right wing approximately 3'x2' was missing near the fuselage. We contacted ZZZ tower to let them know we had lost a panel off of the aircraft and they said they would send airport operations out to check the runway. Approximately 30 minutes later maintenance informed us that ZZZ airport operations had found the panel near the approach end of runway xxl; which was the runway we used for departure. I suspect the panel departed the aircraft as we began our takeoff roll.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: B737 flight crew reported lateral trim problems during a post maintenance check flight. Post flight inspection revealed a missing wing panel.
Narrative: This was a [Test Flight] on Aircraft X after heavy maintenance. As the Pilot Flying; after takeoff; I noticed the airplane required left aileron input in order to maintain heading. Continued the climb to 15;000 and leveled at 250 kias (Knots Indicated Airspeed). Aircraft had slight vibration noted by maintenance observers in the passenger cabin as well as myself and the First Officer. We started performing the normal trim checks per the FCF profile and noted as the flaps were being extended to each setting the aircraft required more and more left rudder trim in order to fly straight and the vibration became considerably worse. We elected to terminate the trim checks; cleaned up the aircraft; and decided to return to ZZZ and land using flaps 15. During post flight maintenance observers noted a panel on the right wing approximately 3'x2' was missing near the fuselage. We contacted ZZZ Tower to let them know we had lost a panel off of the aircraft and they said they would send airport operations out to check the runway. Approximately 30 minutes later maintenance informed us that ZZZ Airport Operations had found the panel near the approach end of Runway XXL; which was the runway we used for departure. I suspect the panel departed the aircraft as we began our takeoff roll.
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.