Preliminary Report: Yoke Movement Restricted On Beech 1900D

Raytheon Beech 1900D, Rockland, Maine, Aug. 2, 2005–As Colgan Air Flight 4972, dba US Airways Express, was taking off from Knox County Regional Airport, the yoke did not move when the commercial-rated first officer called, “V1 rotate.” The ATP-rated captain pulled harder and the yoke came back abruptly and the airplane “jumped” into the air. The captain said he was able to maintain controlled flight. Everything seemed normal except that the elevator trim moved slowly nose up, requiring the pilot to keep adding nose-down trim every one or two minutes. Inspection revealed that several rivets were missing at the right side elevator hinge point. The airplane sustained minor damage but there were no injuries.