Pilot Debrief

PIPER PA-22-160 near Jeannette, PA — 2008-08-19

Final reportMIA08LA168
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Date
2008-08-19
Location
Jeannette, PA, USA
Airport
5G8
Aircraft
PIPER PA-22-160
Registration
N9403D
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

Failure of the brakes to function due to inadequate inspection of the brake cable by maintenance personnel.

NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that the airplane bounced on landing. He aligned the airplane with the centerline and applied upward pressure on the manual brake; however, there was no response from the brake. He looked down towards the firewall, and observed the brake cable had separated. He started "S" turning the airplane in an attempt to slow down and stop. The airplane was about 50 yards from the end of the runway with an embankment. He applied right rudder to turn the airplane off the right side of the runway. The airplane continued off the runway and the nose wheel collapsed. Examination of the brake lever cable revealed that it failed due to fatigue. The last annual inspection was completed 36 days before the accident. The airframe and power plant mechanic who preformed the annual inspection stated that he also installed a brake booster on the airplane during the inspection. The mechanic stated that he did not totally remove the cable from the airplane during his examination; however he did check the brake cable with a cloth and there were no snags from broken wires. The Federal Aviation Administration advisory circular that pertains to the inspection of the brake cables states, "in addition to passing a cloth over the area to check on wire snags that a very careful visual inspection must be made since a broken wire will not always protrude or stick out, but may lie in the strand and remain in the position of the helix as it was manufactured. Broken wires of this type may show up as a hairline crack in the wire. If a broken wire of this type is suspected, further inspection with a magnifying glass of 7 power or greater, is recommended."

NTSB coding

View NTSB final report

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