A300
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Troubleshooting
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical
Flight Crew Diverted; Flight Crew Landed As Precaution; General Declared Emergency
Aircraft
[In cruise flight] at FL320; #1 pitch trim lever clicked off followed shortly by #2 pitch trim; then the autopilot clicked off. I took control of the airplane [and] had the First Officer attempt re-engage the pitch trim levers and autopilot. Moments later the same sequence of events happened again. Instructed the First Officer to one more attempt; same thing happened. Third try; I instructed the First Officer to just engage the #2 pitch trim system and the autopilot. No avail. I attempted to manually trim the stab with the trim wheel but no luck. The First Officer ran checklist. We descended to FL280; not RVSM. Got direct to [a nearby suitable airport]; 40 miles out at 10;000 feet; declared emergency with Approach Control; vectors around for ILS; made Flaps 15/20 landing because gusting crosswinds and a good deal of nose down pressure on the control wheel. Landing; rollout; taxi to gate [with] no problems.
Manual trim was iffy. We could move the trim wheel only a centimeter or so without fear of damaging the system.
A300-600 flight crew reported failure of pitch trim system in cruise flight at FL320. Running procedure did not help; and the flight diverted to a nearby suitable airport.