Brasilia EMB-120 All Series
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Workload; Time Pressure
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Weight And Balance
Flight Crew Became Reoriented; Flight Crew Rejected Takeoff
Aircraft; Human Factors
While checking and signing the load manifest I did not check if the plotted CG/Trim selection was matching the actual trim setting on the trim wheel. It turned out that not only was the trim setting incorrect (value was left from previous landing) but also the graph section of load manifest that serves the purpose of finding the trim setting was omitted and blank. I also missed my second chance to catch this fault when I failed to pay closer attention while performing the taxi check. On that checklist I am supposed to check Trim settings (aileron; rudder; elevator). I did verify rudder and aileron trim settings but I skipped the elevator verification because of rushing and because the elevator setting is normally checked already while checking load manifest. The manifest did not get filled out correctly; nor was it's incompleteness detected; because of the crew rushing to make a 'quick turn'. The crew was running late all day from the very first leg due to multiple maintenance issues that accrued on each leg. There was a belief that by rushing the crew and the airplane could get back on schedule. Also the aircraft was extremely hot in the cockpit while on the ground (packs were not cooling sufficiently for weather conditions) which made the crew want to get back in the air as soon as possible (to cool) and also get over with the work day. Pilots should slow down; do their jobs as trained; and not allow themselves to rush. Also; they should have a comfortable work environment (temperature in this case); and if they don't they should request an airplane that does.
We had started out late on a Repo flight; 1st flight of the trip. The aircraft had come from maintenance and there were still problems; so we were delayed while Maintenance corrected those problems. When we arrived at our destination; we were having another maintenance issue; and contacted Maintenance Center again. We expected a relatively quick fix; but that wasn't the case. When the problem was fixed; we continued and were now running a little over an hour behind. Planning on making up a little time on our next turn; we made Ops aware while enroute via radio that we would like a Quick Turn. We landed; taxied in; deplaned; replaned; finished our paperwork; closed up and taxied out. We were given a little bit of flow and after a couple minutes; cleared for takeoff (TO). I lined up the aircraft; pushed the Power Levers forward; and immediately received a Triple Chime with aural 'Trim'. I aborted the TO; cleared at the next available taxiway; ran checklists; talked to Ground Control and the Flight Attendant; and taxied back toward the run-up area. During the taxi back to the run-up area; I could see that the Trim Setting wasn't in the required Green Band. I also couldn't remember what the Trim Setting should be for that flight. Once in the run up; I checked our copy of the Load Manifest and I saw that I had failed to plot our Takeoff Weight and Index; which is what gives us our Trim Setting. We were running behind and trying to get back on schedule. Also; the aircraft had several write-ups of smoke coming from the packs. This made me a little hesitant to take the packs out of Auto/Low; so the Flight Deck was very hot and uncomfortable; which led to some loss of focus. Slow down. I do try and utilize the checklists and remember if I did the item as I respond; rather than absent-mindedly giving the correct response to that checklist item. Things go awry when time becomes a factor. At the end of the day; numbers are numbers and they do reflect upon us; but safety is paramount.
Flight Crew reports forgetting to calculate and set the takeoff trim setting due to rushing to make-up for earlier maintenance delays. When the power levers are pushed forward for takeoff a 'Trim' warning is enunciated and the takeoff rejected.