SA-227 AC Metro III
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical
Flight Crew Overcame Equipment Problem
Aircraft; Procedure
Leaving ZZZ1 I was in the right seat training [the pilot flying]. We had received a clearance to make a right turn after departure to follow our given flight plan. I was handling the radios and [the pilot flying] was performing all other duties in a simulated single pilot operation. During the climb out I noticed that he was not cleaning up the airplane or turning at the prescribed times. I was in contact with ATC so it was a few seconds before I was able to ask him what the problem was. He told me that the trim was not working on his side while he was attempting to trim nose down. I did a quick verification that all circuit breakers where pushed in on my side in case it was an indication problem. We then switched the trim control over to the co-pilot side to see if it was an issue with just his trim control. Neither my trim control or the auxiliary trim switch was working. While he was holding the control yoke and manually controlling the pitch I tried the trim to see if the nose up trim would work. When it did I once again tried the nose down trim on my side. It worked but at a severely reduced rate. I then transferred trim control back to him and he was able to use it at the reduced rate. We began discussing how we would write up the trim system upon return to ZZZ1. [The pilot flying] then informed me that the trim had stopped working in the nose down direction completely. After once again trying to get the trim moving we referenced the QRH and ran the Trim Failure in Flight (Both Sides) checklist. We also [advised ATC] and opted to remain heading to ZZZ. There were several factors in the decision. The airplane was stable and controllable during cruise; we had Maintenance in ZZZ; the weather was VFR; ZZZ has a tower and emergency services and it would give us time to run the problem and formulate a plan for landing. We briefed and complied with the Landing with Flaps not Down Do-list. Since this was an unusual situation we opted to run the rest of the flight as two crew operations. We flew the ILS into ZZZ to help with altitude control and to give us a path to follow. We were able to land without further incident and taxied to the ramp and had an uneventful shutdown. [The pilot flying] became aware of the issue shortly after takeoff in the climb. I became aware shortly after when asking about the delayed response in the climb out. The trim system on the aircraft was failing to trim nose down. We checked the aircraft to verify no breakers or equipment was turned off. We then ran the appropriate emergency checklist and informed ATC of the situation along with [advised ATC]. We also reverted to two crew operations for the remainder of the flight to lessen the workload of the pilot flying. We also wrote up the problem upon landing in ZZZ. We had written up this problem the previous time we flew the airplane; thankfully with not as drastic results; and Maintenance had signed it off as fixed. We gave as accurate description as possible that this was a problem that would happen in flight but would be normal on the ground. The subsequent corrective action was just to test it on the ground and sign it off as unable to duplicate. When flight control issues are written up they can become serious very quickly. If they had dived deeper into the issue it might have been resolved the first time and we wouldn't have had to lose our ability to fully control the airplane and [advised ATC].
SA-227 Captain reported experiencing an elevator trim malfunction during initial climb. The flight crew opted to continue the flight after troubleshooting the issue and landed uneventfully at their destination.