NEWARK, NJ, USA
N14212
BOEING 737-130
IMMEDIATELY AFTER LIFT-OFF, THE AIRPLANE ROLLED LEFT, BUT THE PILOT CONTROLLED THE ROLL WITH RIGHT AILERON. THE LEFT AILERON WAS OBSERVED IN A FULL UP POSITION. THE CAPTAIN ELECTED TO RETURN & LAND AT THE AIRPORT. WITH SNOW ON THE RUN- WAY, HE DECIDED TO USE 15 DEGREE WING FLAPS UNTIL 300', THEN EXTEND THE FLAPS TO 30 DEGREES. HE SAID HE NEEDED FULL RIGHT AILERON TO MAINTAIN CONTROL ONCE THE FLAPS WERE EXTENDED TO 30 DEGREES. AN EXAM REVEALED THE LEFT 'DOWN' AILERON CABLE (FOR DOWN MOVEMENT) HAD BROKEN. ALSO, THE LEFT 'UP' AILERON CABLE & BOTH RIGHT AILERON CABLES WERE WORN & WERE REPLACED. METALLURGICAL EXAMINATION REVEALED NUMEROUS WORN STRANDS IN THE CABLES. A 'C' CHECK/INSPECTION OF THE AILERON CABLES HAD BEEN ACCOMPLISHED ON 12/20/92 (580 FLIGHT HOURS BEFORE INCIDENT) VIA PROCEDURES. PROCEDURES LACKED DETAILS & NO SERVICE LIFE WAS ESTABLISHED FOR AILERON CONTROL CABLES. THE 1968 MODEL AIRPLANE HAD ABOUT 59,000 FLIGHT HOURS; NO RECORD OF PREVIOUS CABLE REPLACEMENT WAS FOUND.
INADEQUATE MAINTENANCE/INSPECTION BY COMPANY MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL, THE MANUFACTURER'S INADEQUATE INSPECTION AND/OR REPLACEMENT PROCEDURES FOR THE AILERON CABLES, AND SUBSEQUENT FAILURE OF THE 'DOWN' AILERON CONTROL CABLE DUE TO WEAR.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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