Doomed cargo plane had climb controls switched to dive mode: probe

US FEDERAL investigators say the up and down control cables were reversed on an Air Tahoma Convair 580 that crashed last September in Ohio, killing all aboard.

On-site inspection revealed that when the pilot applied nose-up trim, the system actually applied nose-down trim, said the report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), reported Professional Pilot News.

The twin-engine 1956 aircraft crashed after taking off from Rickenbacker airport in Columbus. Killed were 58-year-old Urs Anderegg of Miami, 57-year-old James Monahan of Plantation and 41-year-old Sean Gardiner of Miami.

In January, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revoked the operating certificate of Air Tahoma, the air cargo firm based at Rickenbacker.

The NTSB report supplements previously released information about the crash, and includes a transcript of the accident aircraft's Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR).

The accident happened just after noon on September 1, shortly after the aircraft departed from Rickenbacker en route to Mansfield, Ohio. The aircraft impacted terrain minutes after takeoff as it was attempting to return. The plane was completely destroyed.

The flight was the first following a maintenance Phase 1 and Phase 2 check, which included flight control cable rigging as part of the check. The flight was also intended to provide cockpit familiarisation for the first officer and the observer, and a training flight for the first officer, the NTSB report said.

The report said both pilots struggled intensely to achieve nose-up trim moments before impact. The pilots' dramatic struggle to control the aircraft proceeded for another minute and 17 seconds, until the aircraft hit the ground, said report.

Source: Schednet