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Old 22nd Feb 2010, 07:05
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fdr
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: 3rd Rock, #29B
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Jammed Elevator

I have had a jammed elevator airborne, and can attest you don't want it.

On the balance of risks. going off the end at moderate speed is what I would consider the least risk outcome. If you manage to get airborne and are unable to regain a trimmed flight condition, in a fairly short period of time available, then the outcome is disastrous.

For the B737, the manufacturers guidance in the rejected takeoff procedure is that unable to fly is a (fairly obvious) cause to reject. This is usually worded as the period from 80Kts to V1, however it begs the question what about post V1... when the plane still won't fly.

(If you recall the DC-10 @ RJFF, 13 June 1996, GA-865, which rejected after V1 on Rwy 16. The center engine N1 had let go and peppered the hydraulic systems. The captain was criticized at the time for rejecting after commencing the rotate, however many years later it was accepted that the captain had felt the controls degrading as a result of the hydraulic loss, and concluded the aircraft was unflyable. The wreckage showed similar impacts across the horizontal stabilizers as UA-232 had. IIRC the captain subsequently died about 5 years later, but had been acknowledged by the investigators as having acted correctly).

You don't have a lot of time to come up with an answer where both outcomes are potentially dangerous.

Your decision in the sim speaks for itself.

FDR
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