Pilot Debrief

PIPER PA 34-200 near Spring, TX — 2014-04-25

Final reportCEN14LA220
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Date
2014-04-25
Location
Spring, TX, USA
Airport
DWH
Aircraft
PIPER PA 34-200
Registration
N56755
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

The loss of right brake effectiveness during landing for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence, which resulted in a loss of directional control.

NTSB narrative

The flight instructor was flying the airplane and demonstrating a short-field landing during the instructional flight. The flight instructor reported that, after the airplane touched down about 90 mph, the right brake pedal went full forward, and the brakes were not slowing the airplane. He pumped the brake pedal several times to build pressure in the lines but was not successful. The pilot receiving instruction checked his brake pedals and confirmed that the right brake was not working. The flight instructor then shut down both engines when the airspeed was about 60 mph and subsequently lost directional control of the airplane. The airplane then drifted off the left side of the runway and impacted a ditch, which resulted in substantial damage to the lower aft fuselage and lower forward empennage. An examination of the brakes the day after the accident did not reveal any problems with the right brake; however, it could not be determined whether the brake system had been serviced or repaired following the accident. A photograph of skid marks on the runway showed that the skid marks for the left main landing gear (MLG) tire seemed to be darker than the skid marks for the right MLG tire. The evidence indicates that the right brake likely lost effectiveness during the landing, which resulted in a loss of directional control; however, the reason for the brake's loss of effectiveness could not be determined.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Flight instructor could have aborted landing after brake failure was confirmed.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 4 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents4

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