So it sounds like the Engine Shut-Down Checklist – whatever it’s called – mentions the Gust Lock Lever, but whether it is set or not is apparently optional.
But the Pre Start Checklist specifically calls for the Gust Lock Lever to be in the OFF position before starting engines, and the Gust Lock Lever was found to be in the OFF position.
. . . and somewhere along the line, after engine start, a Flight Control Check is called for.
It wasn’t mentioned on the FR, which is not the same as not being done.
And an operator recently commented here that the elevator forces are very obvious as speed increases on TO roll.
Maybe the absence of those normal elevator forces started the cockpit conversation noted on the Flight Recorder about “control forces.”
The Captain was also a licensed mechanic and could be expected to know the systems better than an average pilot. He would know of this hydraulic situation vs the control lock vs engine start deal.
And maybe they did the control check and didn’t say it out loud, so the FR didn’t pick it up?
Both pilots had plenty of total flight time, and time in type, so they were in a familiar situation, in a geographic area they were familiar with, the WX is fine, wind calm, runway dry.
Lewis Katz, the owner, was known to be a man of good humor, and not the type to start yelling at his employees.
I don’t know the airplane; but with the engine’s running, all systems go, including specifically hydraulics, what would keep the nose from rising? What was going on with the elevators?
I would guess the control cables withstood the fire and should help the investigators.
The position of the stabilizer trim has not been mentioned in the official releases from the NTSB.
Were there any delays before departure for any reason? Any deferred maintenance until they got home?