Originally Posted by khorton
...If the elevator is locked completely solid, then you only have the tiny trim tab moving, instead of the much larger elevator, so the aircraft pitch response response will be very minimal.
There was an incident many years ago in Canada in which a DHC-6 pilot encountered that exact situation - the elevator was locked solidly in position. It was not a result of an aircraft failure - the pilot was transporting fuel drums that had snow and ice on top when they were loaded into the aircraft. During the long flight, the snow and ice melted in the warm cabin, the water ran down under the floor and froze around the elevator control cable(s).
The pilot was able to land the aircraft successfully by using the trim tab to control pitch and being very judicious with engine power adjustments.
The AFM extract that you quoted earlier in this thread was added as a result of that incident.