Airbus A320-211 N340NW

Summary

On 18 March 1996 at about 12:00 local time, a Airbus A320-211 registered N340NW was involved in an incident near Detroit, Michigan, United States. 110 people were on board and nobody was injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 March 1996 at 12:00

Classification

Incident

Location

Detroit, Michigan, United States

Coordinates

42.2306, -83.3909

Aircraft

Airbus A320-211

Registration

N340NW

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Fort Lauderdale

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI96IA109

Nobody was injured.

a defective diode in the number two stabilizer actuator that produced an intermittent loss of electrical motor power during transient, closed loop control of the actuator. A factor was the intermittent open circuit in the elevator servo controller electrovalve coil.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The captain reported that the crew leveled at flight level 370 and received an elevator aileron computer (ELAC) number two pitch fault message. The message cleared itself. A few minutes later they received servo fault message. The 'pitch jumped +/- 100 feet.' The crew descended to flight level 350. During the level off they received an ELAC number one pitch fault message. The crew declared an emergency and landed uneventfully. The aircraft maintenance log revealed a similar occurrence on the previous flight. Investigation revealed an intermittent fault in the elevator servo controller electrovalve coil and a defective diode in the electronic module for one of the stabilizer actuators. The defective diode produced an intermittent loss of electrical motor power during transient, closed loop control of the actuator.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.