Aircraft Systems and Flight: Flight controls

 Aircraft flight control systems consist of primary and secondary systems. The ailerons, elevator, and rudder are the primary control system. Wing flaps, leading-edge devices, spoilers, and trim systems constitute the secondary control system and improve the performance characteristics of the airplane (FAA. n.d.).

In my opinion, one of the hardest situations that a pilot can deal with is a primary flight control malfunction. An engine failure is a normal maneuver in every training, double engine failure can be challenging but you can glide. Losing the maneuverability of an airplane can be very challenging to fix, it can pull the pilot up, down, left, or right without any way to control it. If there are no flight controls, there is no way to fly in a controllable and safe manner. 

A flight control malfunction can occur due to many reasons, it would mostly depend on how the system of each airplane is designed. A bird strike can do structural damage to this system. A trim motor or autopilot malfunction too. Same with jammed pulleys, cables, or controls. the most dangerous is in air collision which can lead to a full loss of flight controls.

Furthermore, some situations are not fixable. An example is Aeroflot flight 8641, killing 132 people on board. the failure of the jackscrew controlling the horizontal stabilizer was the cause of the accident, and this was due to a design flaw (UKEssays, 2018). A good mitigation strategy is a good maintenance in all airplane parts. Nevertheless, if the situation is imminent, disconnecting these systems and reverting them to manual can overcome many, but not all of these malfunctions. 


FAA. (n.d.). Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/media/08_phak_ch6.pdf

UKEssays. (November 2018). AeroFlot Flight 8641 Crash Analysis. Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/engineering/aeroflot-flight-8641-crash-analysis-3610.php?vref=1




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