Flight Controls; Restricted elevator control system

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FAA Aviation Safety SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS INFORMATION BULLETIN SUBJ: Flight Controls; Restricted elevator control system SAIB: CE-13-17 Date: February 28, 2013 This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory.

Introduction

This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin advises owners and operators of Aerostar (Yakovlev) Yak-52 series of aircraft, of an airworthiness concern, regarding elevator control restriction during flight.

Background

This SAIB is in response to a fatal accident involving a Yak-52 aircraft resulting from a partially jammed elevator system. The elevator system jammed during an aerobatic flight with the pilot and one passenger. The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand’s investigation pointed to a stubby screwdriver that migrated to a position that restricted the elevator system from fully functioning, which caused the loss of control fatal accident to occur shortly after take-off. The investigation points to other accidents and incidences of foreign objects causing problems with control system restrictions.

The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand issued an airworthiness directive DCA/YAK/9, which can be found at: http://www.caa.govt.nz/Airworthiness_Directives/YAK.pdf

Recommendations

These aircraft are not type certificated in the United States and, therefore, the condition is not addressed by FAA AD action.

We recommend all owners and operators comply with actions outlined in the New Zealand Airwothiness Directive DCA/YAK/9.

For Further Information Contact

Barry Ballenger, Aerospace Engineer, Standards Staff, ACE-110; phone: (816) 329-4152; fax: (816) 329-4090; e-mail: [email protected].

For Related Service Information Contact

The complete Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand’s Aircraft Accident Report may be found at:

http://www.caa.govt.nz/Accidents_and_Incidents/Accident_Reports/ZK-YTW_Fatal_23_Jan_12.pdf