Ran across Youtube tapes of this over-an-hour long "mayday." Then searched and found it had a Wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Astana_Flight_1388#Investigation
Air Astana Flight 1388 was a repositioning flight from Lisbon to Almaty, with a refueling stopover at Minsk. On 11 November 2018, shortly after takeoff it suffered severe control issues. After 90 minutes it landed safely at Beja Airbase.[1]
The aircraft took off at 13:31. Shortly after the pilots noticed some control issues. The pilots tried to turn on the autopilot, but it failed to engage. At 13:37 the crew requested a climb to FL 100 and an immediate return to Alverca, reporting flight control problems. At several instances the plane suffered complete loss of control, flipping over and diving sharply. The crew requested a heading to the sea so they could ditch if it became inevitable. They activated the direct mode for flight controls, which disconnects the FCM (flight control module) from the controls. This considerably increased controllability, but the plane was still rolling abnormally. The crew flew the plane east, hoping to find better weather conditions. Two F-16s from the Portuguese Air Force took off from Monte Real Air Base to escort the aircraft to Beja Airbase. After two go-arounds the plane landed on runway 19L.
One passenger suffered a leg injury. The hull was deformed and the leading edges of the wing were wrinkled. Some of parts of the aircraft suffered loads greater than what they were designed for. The aircraft was written off.[5]
Investigation
The investigation revealed that the aileron cables were installed incorrectly. This caused reversal of aileron controls. Since the roll control surfaces include spoilers, which weren't affected by the mistake, the situation couldn't have been handled with just reversing inputs.[6]
The investigation blamed the manufacturer of the airplane for the poorly made maintenance instructions, the supervising authorities for lack of oversight over the maintenance crew, who lacked the skill to perform the heavy maintenance, and the pilots for failing to perform pre-flight checks which would have allowed them to notice the control problems.[7]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Astana_Flight_1388#Investigation
Air Astana Flight 1388 was a repositioning flight from Lisbon to Almaty, with a refueling stopover at Minsk. On 11 November 2018, shortly after takeoff it suffered severe control issues. After 90 minutes it landed safely at Beja Airbase.[1]
The aircraft took off at 13:31. Shortly after the pilots noticed some control issues. The pilots tried to turn on the autopilot, but it failed to engage. At 13:37 the crew requested a climb to FL 100 and an immediate return to Alverca, reporting flight control problems. At several instances the plane suffered complete loss of control, flipping over and diving sharply. The crew requested a heading to the sea so they could ditch if it became inevitable. They activated the direct mode for flight controls, which disconnects the FCM (flight control module) from the controls. This considerably increased controllability, but the plane was still rolling abnormally. The crew flew the plane east, hoping to find better weather conditions. Two F-16s from the Portuguese Air Force took off from Monte Real Air Base to escort the aircraft to Beja Airbase. After two go-arounds the plane landed on runway 19L.
One passenger suffered a leg injury. The hull was deformed and the leading edges of the wing were wrinkled. Some of parts of the aircraft suffered loads greater than what they were designed for. The aircraft was written off.[5]
Investigation
The investigation revealed that the aileron cables were installed incorrectly. This caused reversal of aileron controls. Since the roll control surfaces include spoilers, which weren't affected by the mistake, the situation couldn't have been handled with just reversing inputs.[6]
The investigation blamed the manufacturer of the airplane for the poorly made maintenance instructions, the supervising authorities for lack of oversight over the maintenance crew, who lacked the skill to perform the heavy maintenance, and the pilots for failing to perform pre-flight checks which would have allowed them to notice the control problems.[7]
