Norfolk International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Norfolk, Virginia 23502
Wednesday, April 25, 2001 18:15 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During cruise flight, the horizontal stabilizer jammed in the (-1)-degree trim position. After an uneventful landing, the elevator trim actuator was forwarded to the manufacturer for examination under the supervision of a Safety Board investigator. The elevator trim actuator contained a primary and back-up clutch gear, and each gear had a respective torque nut and lock washer. The examination revealed that that the tabs on the lock washers were not bent over into the locked position. Additionally, there was no evidence that the tabs had ever been bent into the locked position. The back-up clutch torque nut had backed off and down the shaft, coming to rest against the clutch gear cluster bearing outer race. The backed-off nut exhibited a scratch around the outer edge of the face, consistent with fouling against the clutch gear cluster bearing outer race, subsequently jamming the unit. The manufacturer identified the isolated error in the production process.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The manufacturer's inadequate quality control, which resulted in a jammed elevator trim actuator.

Event Information

Type of Event Incident
Event Date 4/25/2001
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1815
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Norfolk
Event State VIRGINIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 23502
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Norfolk International Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID ORF
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 50
Degrees magnetic from airport 360
Airport Elevation 26
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1851 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID ORF
Elevation of weather observation facility 26
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 50
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2400
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 1500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 9
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 60
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 16
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.18
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 53
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11529
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Apr 25 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1930
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 20 2002 1:46PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Richmond, VA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N29917
NTSB Number NYC01IA107
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 121: Air Carrier
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage None
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Embraer
Aircraft Model EMB-145
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 145-414
Certified Max Gross Weight 48501
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 53
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Apr 9 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 31
Airframe Hours 31
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Wells Fargo Bank Northwest NA Trustee
Aircraft Owner Street Address 79 South Main Street
Aircraft Owner City Salt Lake City
Aircraft Owner State UT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 84111
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name CONTINENTAL EXPRESS INC
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 1600 Smith Street
Operator City Houston
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 77002
Operator Code C2XA
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code EWR
Departure City Newark
Departure State NJ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1700
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code ORF
Destination City Norfolk
Destination State VA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jan 21 2002 12:26PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 5
Runway Length 9001
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --