Airbus Industrie A320-211 incident near Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 28, 1995
On April 28, 1995 at about 5:00 pm local time, a Airbus Industrie A320-211, registered N331NW, was involved in an incident near Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 90 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
inadequate design of the fly-by-wire flight control system which allowed false signals from the sidestick transducer units to generate uncommanded rolls.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 28, 1995 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Minneapolis, Minnesota · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 90 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Airbus Industrie A320-211 · all A320-211s on the register
- Registration
- N331NW · no longer on the register · serial 318
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ON TWO CONSECUTIVE DAYS, THE SAME AIRPLANE EXPERIENCED UNCOMMANDED ROLLS DURING FLIGHT WITH THE AUTOPILOT ENGAGED. INSPECTION OF THE AIRPLANE SYSTEMS REVEALED A DEFECT IN A ROLL POTENTIOMETER LOCATED IN THE CAPTAINS SIDESTICK TRANSDUCER UNIT. A GREASE FILLED GROOVE WAS FOUND IN THE POTENTIOMETER TRACK NEAR THE NEUTRAL POSITION. THIS POTENTIOMETER SENDS ELECTRONIC SIGNALS TO THE ELEVATOR AILERON CONTROLLER (ELAC-1). THE GROOVE RESULTED IN AN INTERMITTENT LOSS OF CONTACT BETWEEN THE WIPER AND THE TRACK AND SUBSEQUENTLY A 'VOLTAGE SPIKE' TO THE ELAC-1. FOLLOWING THIS INCIDENT AIRBUS ISSUED TWO SERVICE BULLETINS ADDRESSING THE 'VOLTAGE SPIKE' PHENOMENON WHICH HAS BEEN OCCURRING ON OTHER A320 AIRPLANES SINCE 1991.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,411 hours in all; 1,953 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 145,000 lb
- Seats: 156
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CFM-56-5 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MSP MN at 4:45 pm
- Destination: SNA Orange County CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 84 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N331NW the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.