On September 24, 1994, a Tarom Airbus A-310, Flight 381 from Bucharest on approach to Paris Orly went into a sudden and uncommanded nose-up position and stalled. The crew attempted to countermand the plane's flight control system but were unable to get the nose down while remaining on course. Witnesses saw the plane climb to a tail stand, then bank sharply left, then right, then fall into a steep dive. Only when the dive produced additional speed was the crew able to recover steady flight. An investigation found that an overshoot of flap placard speed during approach, incorrectly commanded by the captain, caused a mode transition to flight level change. The auto-throttles increased power and trim went full nose-up as a result. The crew attempt at commanding the nose-down elevator could not counteract effect of stabilizer nose-up trim, and the resulting dive brought the plane from a height of 4100 feet at the time of the stall to 800 feet when the crew was able to recover command. The plane landed safely after a second approach. There were 186 people aboard.
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