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A PA31 pilot made a precautionary landing due to a failed electric pitch trim system which disconnected the autopilot.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 897135 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201006 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | 07FA.Airport |
| State Reference | FL |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | Mixed |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | PA-31 Navajo/Chieftan/Mojave/T1040 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Initial Climb |
| Route In Use | Vectors |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Elevator Trim System |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Private Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 34 Flight Crew Total 1300 Flight Crew Type 132 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe |
Narrative:
Just after takeoff the electric trim servo motor failed and resulted in an autopilot disconnect. The weather was a mix of VFR and IFR on an instrument flight plan climbing to FL260. I continued to climb to altitude and comply with ATC directions while attempting to trouble shoot the cause of the fault and determine the safety of continuing the flight. I ultimately advised ATC of my desire to change destination to pmp (an airport we are very familiar with). They inquired as to the reason and I responded that we had an autopilot malfunction that we wanted to get on the ground to trouble shoot. They specifically asked if it was an emergency and we made it very clear that there was no emergency just a precautionary landing. We landed and had a telephone conversation with the airplane's mechanic. We went through several troubleshooting steps together and he advised to pull the breaker and disable the electric trim and to placard the auto trim as inoperable. We did this and a very thorough pre-flight; took off and continued the flight landing uneventfully at our final destination. Later in the week we received a call from an FAA inspector asking for more details. I explained exactly this and he seemed satisfied yet asked for the details to be put in writing.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A PA31 pilot made a precautionary landing due to a failed electric pitch trim system which disconnected the autopilot.
Narrative: Just after takeoff the electric trim servo motor failed and resulted in an autopilot disconnect. The weather was a mix of VFR and IFR on an instrument flight plan climbing to FL260. I continued to climb to altitude and comply with ATC directions while attempting to trouble shoot the cause of the fault and determine the safety of continuing the flight. I ultimately advised ATC of my desire to change destination to PMP (an airport we are very familiar with). They inquired as to the reason and I responded that we had an autopilot malfunction that we wanted to get on the ground to trouble shoot. They specifically asked if it was an emergency and we made it very clear that there was no emergency just a precautionary landing. We landed and had a telephone conversation with the airplane's mechanic. We went through several troubleshooting steps together and he advised to pull the breaker and disable the electric trim and to placard the auto trim as inoperable. We did this and a very thorough pre-flight; took off and continued the flight landing uneventfully at our final destination. Later in the week we received a call from an FAA inspector asking for more details. I explained exactly this and he seemed satisfied yet asked for the details to be put in writing.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.