An ATR-42 passenger plane sustained minor damage in an accident at Bergen-Flesland Airport (BGO), Norway. There were no injuries among the 22 passengers and three crew members. Danish Air Transport flight DTR54 was on a scheduled flight from Bergen to Flor? (FRO). During takeoff the pilots experienced considerable control problems related to the elevator function. They declared an emergency situation and returned for landing. The landing was accomplished without further incident 7 minutes after takeoff. After landing it was found that the control problems were caused by the right elevator hanging below the horizontal stabiliser, attached only by the inboard of the three hinges that normally connect the elevator to the stabiliser. A bolt was missing from both the centre and outer hinges. Both of the bolts and one of the nuts that normally should connect the hinge assemblies together were found. One of the bolts was found on the runway, the other inside the elevator. Investigation indicates that the bolt belonging to the outer hinge assembly fell out during the takeoff in question, while the bolt in the centre hinge assembly had fallen out at an earlier point in time, without being discovered. The report concludes that the self-locking nuts cannot have been tightened with the required torque when the elevator was fitted. This error was most probably introduced after the aircraft was repainted in 1999. Significant investigation results: The control problems experienced by the crew during take-off and the rest of the flight began when the outboard of the three hinge bolts that attach the right elevator to the stabiliser loosened and fell out. As the centre bolt had fallen out at an earlier point in time without being discovered, the elevator was hanging in place only attached by the inboard hinge. The self-locking nuts that should hold the centre and outboard hinge bolts in place cannot have been tightened with the required torque.