Delta flight 1080 incident

Delta L-1011 ad

During the take-off run, Delta ship 707 (N707DA) got its left elevator jammed in the up position imposing a continuous nose-up pitching moment after lift-off. The remaining pitch control authority of the stabilator was not enough to counteract that tendency. You keep losing speed and and you find yourself on the verge of an unrecoverable stall and you still don't know why you don't have full pitch authority - because in the L-1011 the sensors are coupled with the position of the entire stabilizer (which acts as an all flying tail) and you cannot detect the jamming of the left elevator.

Flying tail

What would you do in this situation? This is a descripton of an amazing airmanship story where everybody survived without a scratch because of a desperate and improbable last attempt to regain control of the aircraft while making use of the unusual engine #2 placement to create a nose-down pitching moment. Subsequent investigation found a broken bearing linked to the jammed elevator due to corrosion. Full description of this incident narrated by the Captain of this troubled flight can be found by following the link below:

• Library | TriStar500.net: Flight 1080 by Capt. Jack McMahan (DAL)