E170, en-route, southwest of Birmingham UK, 2021

E170, en-route, southwest of Birmingham UK, 2021

Summary

On 7 June 2021 an Embraer ERJ170 had just commenced its descent towards destination when both primary and secondary pitch trim systems failed resulting in excessive nose-down pitch control forces and an inoperative autopilot. The flight was completed without further event with the Pilot Flying using both hands on the control yoke to control pitch attitude manually. During the landing roll the nosewhweel steering system also failed. The pitch trim failure was attributed to probable jamming of the trim actuator due to water, possibly condensation, freezing within it. The steering system fault was attributed to a completely unrelated sensor failure.

Description

On 7 June 2021 an Embraer ERJ170 (G-CIXW) being operated by Eastern Airways on a non-scheduled passenger flight from Gibraltar to Birmingham had just begun descent from FL 380 when both primary and secondary pitch trim systems failed. The resultant excessive nose-down control forces in pitch and inoperative autopilot were addressed by the use of two hands on the control column. The remainder of the flight was completed without further event but during the landing roll the nosewheel steering system also failed.   

The full content of this page is available to registered users only.
Please Log in or Register

SKYbrary Partners:

Safety knowledge contributed by: