SF 340B
Communication Breakdown; Confusion
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical
Flight Crew Returned To Departure Airport; General Maintenance Action
Human Factors; Aircraft; Company Policy; Environment - Non Weather Related
During the climbout; the First Officer and I noticed a problem with the Aileron System.The Before Takeoff Checklist was done properly and in accordance with company SOPs. We detected the problem upon rolling out on our initial heading assigned by ATC. During that time; I felt an abnormal feel in the control column in the Aileron System. I initially thought that the First Officer had his hands on the controls as he was in the process of communicating with ATC; and inquired as to whether his hand was on the push to talk switch on the control column. I looked over and discovered that he was using the push to talk switch on the audio control panel; at which point I started my attempt to diagnose the problem. I initially rolled the airplane side to side through approximately 10-degrees of bank while maintaining our ATC assigned heading. This test being somewhat vague I asked ATC for a 20-degree heading block on either side of our assigned heading. Now being able to roll to the full 30-degree bank without risking an ATC heading deviation; I tested the aileron controls in both directions; and then had the First Officer do the same. During this test; we both felt an unnatural halting and binding in the controls; and decided that the flight could not safely continue to our destination. After informing ATC of our need to return to the airport; I then had the First Officer take the controls and # 1 radio so that I could coordinate our return with Dispatch; the Flight Attendant; and Operations. After discussing the situation with Dispatch and being redispatched to [our departure airport]; both the Dispatcher and I agreed that it would be prudent to declare an emergency. We then returned to [the airport] in an uneventful manner.Upon arriving at the gate; my First Officer and I showed the problem to Maintenance; who agreed that there was a problem with the 'feel' of the ailerons; and reported to hearing clicking sounds from the ailerons outside of the aircraft. After completing the write-up and finalizing the flight with Dispatch and Maintenance Control; the flight departed again shortly thereafter. Being an emergency situation with a mechanical failure; I am not sure how much can be done to prevent this occurrence in the future. That being said; two flights later; after returning to [the original airport] from [our destination]; the Mechanic I had spoken with earlier came up to the airplane and reported that they were still diagnosing the problem. I found it disturbing that his initial report was that they couldn't find any faults with the system; but then brought up what I think could have easily been the problem. After saying that they could not find a problem with the airplane; he then proceeded to talk about some sort of bearing casing attached to a bellcrank that he suspected had a failed bearing. That an O-ring [may be] missing from the bearing casing and that there was evidence of that particular bearing casing being over-serviced; as there was grease splattered around the bearing casing that should have been contained within the bearing. He then said that he 'hoped that was not the problem; because it's a really expensive part and it requires about 10 manhours to install'. I find this incredibly disturbing; because his statement at first was that they had not found anything that could have been the problem; and then dismissed what I think sounds like a very likely culprit for the degraded control feel. While we are all sensitive to the financial burden our company must sometimes bear; there is absolutely no place for placing work hours and the financial cost of a repair in front of the proper diagnoses of a problem.
Reporter stated the Mechanic he quoted in his report was a new hire at [this location]. He talked with his company who noted that costs are never a factor when addressing a safety of flight issue. He was informed that the aircraft had been grounded after a Flight Test and more experienced mainline mechanics had been brought in to troubleshoot the flight control issue. The SAAB 340 aircraft Aileron System is all cable; no actuators; a pushrod was found corroded and replaced at the right aileron.
Captain reports that he and the First Officer felt an unnatural halting and binding in the aileron system that was felt through the Control Columns on a SAAB 340 aircraft. An air turnback was accomplished. But comments made by a company Mechanic raised concerns that financial cost of a repair may be placed in front of proper diagnoses of the problem.