133. When the Elevator Freezes

In Episode 133 of I Learned About Flying From That, host Carl Valeri welcomes back airline pilot and aviation attorney Chris Pezalla to discuss a harrowing mechanical failure during a tailwheel checkout flight.

What started as a routine practice session in a Cessna 140 quickly turned into a critical emergency. During climbout in the traffic pattern, Chris and his instructor discovered that the elevator flight controls were jammed. When forcing the controls freed the elevator with a loud bang, the aircraft pitched nose-down toward traffic on a nearby highway—only for the elevator to jam again.