Los Angeles, CA, USA
N393HA
AIRBUS A330-243
On September 22, 2022, about 1200 pacific daylight time (PDT), Hawaiian Airlines flight 3, an Airbus A330, N393HA, experienced a pitch trim anomaly upon climb out from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Los Angeles, California. The flight crew declared an emergency and returned to LAX. None of the 278 passengers and 12 crew members onboard were injured. The flight was a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 scheduled domestic passenger flight from LAX to Honolulu, Hawaii (HNL). As the airplane was climbing through Flight Level (FL) 360 after departure from LAX, the flight crew reported that the trimmable horizontal stabilizer (THS) pitch trim wheel began a rapid uncommanded nose up/nose down movement while autopilot 2 was engaged. The first officer, who was the pilot flying, disconnected autopilot 2 and took manual control of the aircraft. The trim wheel continued the uncommanded movement with the autopilot disengaged; however, the crew stated the airplane was controllable during manual flight. No messages regarding the pitch trim anomaly were generated on the electronic centralized aircraft monitor (ECAM). The captain declared an emergency and notified air traffic control that they would be returning to LAX and would need to jettison fuel. He then requested a non-revenue A330 captain seated in the cabin to assist in the cockpit. The captain stated he used this additional crew member, plus an A330 first officer that was jumpseating, to distribute workload in the cockpit: assisting the primary crew in troubleshooting the pitch trim, jettisoning fuel, and preparing for the airplane’s arrival back to LAX. Before landing, the crew assessed the aircraft handling qualities in the landing configuration and remained vigilant to the continued movement of the manual trim wheel. The landing was uneventful, and the aircraft was taxied to a remote parking area where the passengers deplaned. The NTSB assigned aircraft systems and operational factors specialists to investigate this incident. Parties to the investigation include Hawaiian Airlines, Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In accordance with the provisions of Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, an accredited representative from the French Bureau d’Enquetes et d’Analyses (BEA) was assigned to support the investigation, with Airbus as their technical advisor.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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