October 6, 2022 by Beat of Hawaii 12 Comments
On September 22, a trim motor failure resulted in erratic movements of the trim wheel on a Hawaiian Air A330 that was performing flight HA3 from Los Angeles to Honolulu. Aviation Herald and others reported the incident. In total, this makes 14 recent Hawaii-related flight diversions since mid-summer.
Let’s revisit that first sentence again and what it means. We invite the pilots who follow Beat Of Hawaii to add their comments too. On some planes, the trim wheel is moved manually and can raise the nose of the plane up or down. Once that’s set, it will hold the yoke in place, which is helpful at times like when the aircraft is climbing.
On the Airbus A330, there is an auto-trim setting. As soon as the weights and center of gravity position are inserted into the flight management computer, a motor causes the trim wheel to turn automatically to the correct settings for takeoff and during flight.
“Trim Systems are considered to be a secondary flight control system. Aircraft “trim” is the adjustment of aerodynamic forces on the control surfaces so that the aircraft maintains the set attitude without any control input.”
Following take off from LAX, the trim wheel began to move erratically, which could cause the nose to be unstable. To resolve the situation, the flight crew disengaged the autopilot, worked through the appropriate checklists, and then decided to divert back to LAX. The plane departed LAX at 9:58 am and returned back to the same airport at 11:43 am. The plane was out of service at LAX for two days following the incident.
There is an NTSB report on this that said that the primary trim motor failure was the cause of the erratic trim wheel movements. There were no other indications of issues as reported by the plane’s Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitor (ECAM). That is the system on Airbus planes that monitors and displays both engine and aircraft information for the flight crew. When there is a malfunction, ECAM is designed to display the fault and may also indicate the remediation steps needed.
Thanks to the great work of the flight crew, this issue was resolved without a dangerous situation. Trim motor failures have previously created serious pitch issues with airliners and, in 2019, caused a nosedive on a Boeing 737-800.
We’ve covered Hawaii flight diversions for years but can’t recall a period of time when there have been as many as is the case since mid-summer. Here’s the list of issues that occurred recently:
Hawaii Southwest 737MAX Smoke In Cockpit Diversion. A scary incident ended well when a Southwest Hawaii flight diverted over the Pacific Ocean.
Another Southwest Hawaii Mid-Pacific Diversion. For the second time in a three-week period, a Southwest Hawaii flight has had an over-water diversion.
Within 48-Hours, 3 Alaska Air Hawaii Flights Divert Over the Pacific. When three Hawaii flights to/from San Diego all experienced flight diversions crossing the Pacific.
Hawaiian Joins Mid-Air Diversions | Now 7 In Three Weeks. Lucky 7: 3 airlines, 5 diversions in 1 week, 7 diversions in 3 weeks.
What Are Fumes In Aircraft Events? | Hawaiian Diverts Again. Aborted flight, flight crew oxygen masks, fast return. Fumes onboard are always concerning on long Hawaii flights without diversion points.
Hawaiian Air A330 Diversion Results In 15-Hr Phoenix Delay. This latest Hawaii flight diversion brings the total to 9 in recent weeks.
UAL Hawaii Flight Diversion Today | Medical Emergency Reminder. So many recent flight diversions; this one ended up in Hawaii due to a life-threatening situation.
4 More Hawaii Flight Diversions Include Hawaiian & United. Twelve Hawaii flight diversions in 60 days.
We found a short video on what it means to trim an airplane. While this is on a Cessna that requires a manual setting, it seems to do a great job explaining the concept.
Disclosure: We receive a small commission on purchases from some of the links on Beat of Hawaii. These links cost you nothing and provide income necessary to offer our website to you. Mahalo! Privacy Policy and Disclosures.
Filed Under: Hawaii Travel News
I consent to receive communications and agree to Beat of Hawaii's Privacy Policy.
Comment policy: * No profanity, rudeness, personal attacks, or bullying. * Hawaii focused only. General comments won't be published. * No links or UPPER CASE text. English please. * No duplicate posts or using multiple names. * Use a real first name. * A "please" or "thanks" is required for a reply. * Comments edited/published at our sole discretion. * Beat of Hawaii has no relationship with our commentors.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Your comment * Comments limited to 750 characters.
Your name * Please, use first name and last initial only.
Sign me up for Hawaii Travel News! ( I consent to receive communications and agree to Beat of Hawaii's Privacy Policy)
Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.
* Denotes required fields. By commenting you agree to our Privacy Policy.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I’ve been flying on Hawaiian Air for many years…I’ve always been a nervous flee but have just started relaxing and putting all the “what if’s” out of my mind. Now I am having anxiety regarding my flight to Hawaii in January with all these diversions.
I meant flyer not flea lol
The A330 mentioned in this article most likely could of been safely flown to Hawaii. However most pilots these day no longer know how to “fly” the aircraft. I remember one time we had an aircraft where the autopilot was on deferal. It did not affect the safety of flight nor was it a reason the flight could be grounded. We had one set of pilots who refused to take the aircraft mainly because they would of had to actually flown it. It’s pretty crazy when even a pot tells you that their job is so easy due to all the automation that a monkey could do their job
5.5 hours of hand flying in the flight levels, that’s an easy decision and this crew should be commended for their call. The words “most likely” and safety of flight don’t belong in the same sentence. Crossing the Pacific where a gross navigation error is a concern is not the time to be chuck yeagering a flying computer. What do I know though, I’m just a “pot”.
No you cannot fly an A330 across the Pacific without an auto pilot. It’s required to be working per the aircraft MEL (minimum equipment list) A word about all the “diversions” here. Flying to Hawaii is incredibly safe. For many reasons but one is all aircraft have multiple back up systems for every significant component required for safe flight. If one fails or indicates a potential issue the crew is required to report it and if it’s important the decision to return for repairs is made rather then depend on the remaining system….3 hours away from land is no place to be depending on a back up system. Safety is the primary concern of any crew, it’s why flying is so safe today.
Regardless of “knowing how to fly” I believe the air bus in question is a “fly by wire” aircraft with NO mechanical connections to the flight surfaces. If the “trim wheel” with no connection to anything useful once the circuit breaker is pulled to power off the “auto function”, I personally would put it on the ground as soon as I had off loaded enough fuel to get the MAX landing weight.
You should also welcome in aircraft mechanic’s feedback as they have a better understanding of aircraft systems and components. The 2019 accident you reference occured on the unsafe 737 Max aircraft. The angle of attack sensor improperly said that the aircraft was climbing at too steep of an angle. Because the Boeing company cut corners and tried placing modern technology on an aircraft designed in the 1950’s, their answer was the MCAS system. The system that led to the crashes of both the Lion Air a d Air Ethiopia 737 Max aircraft.
The incident in South Africa was a 737-800, not MAX.
My Internet research all says the Air Ethiopia flight 802 that crashed on March 10, 2019 was a Boeing 737 MAX. A sample page containing the Seattle Times explanation is at:
seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/boeings-737-max-aircraft-and-the-crash-of-ethiopian-airlines-flight-302-explained-through-graphics/
(You don’t need to post this if you decide to delete your reply to AMT.)
That is not the flight to which we are referring.
What your article about these diversions doesn’t explain is why they are happening in such numbers and frequency. Have we discovered a ‘Hawaii triangle*!
Excellent video. Information like this would be especially beneficial to nervous flyers who would acquire a basic understanding of how avionics work. I’m surprised at the number of mechanical diversions that have occurred in the last month.
I consent to receive communications and agree to Beat of Hawaii's Privacy Policy.
Copyright © 2022 · Beat Of Hawaii. All Rights Reserved.