Pilot Debrief

Cessna 120 near Beaumont, KS — 2018-12-15

Final reportCEN19LA046
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Date
2018-12-15
Location
Beaumont, KS, USA
Airport
07S
Aircraft
Cessna 120
Registration
N2496N
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

The right brake being locked during the landing roll on the turf runway for reasons that could not be determined during postaccident examinations, which resulted in a noseover.

NTSB narrative

The private pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight. He reported that, upon landing the airplane on a turf runway, the airplane began to pull right. He applied left rudder to try to keep the airplane going straight. As the airplane continued to pull right, the pilot applied full left rudder and full aft elevator and tried applying the left brake. The empennage rose up, so he stopped using the left brake and just used the left rudder. Subsequently, the airplane nosed over, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane. The pilot stated that the right brake was locked during the landing. The brake was subsequently unlocked to facilitate moving the airplane from the runway. An examination of the turf runway revealed surface witness marks consistent with a locked right brake. However, during examination of the airplane, no anomalies were found that would have caused the right brake to lock; therefore, the reason the right brake was locked upon landing could not be determined. Given the available evidence, the airplane likely nosed over during the landing roll as the pilot attempted to compensate for the locked right brake.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have aborted landing when the airplane began to pull right.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 4 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents4

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