Pilot Debrief

Cessna 510 near El Monte, CA — 2019-08-31

Final reportWPR19LA247
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Date
2019-08-31
Location
El Monte, CA, USA
Airport
EMT
Aircraft
Cessna 510
Registration
N551WH
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Minor
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Takeoff roll

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to disengage the parking brake before takeoff, which resulted in decreased acceleration and a subsequent runway overrun following an aborted takeoff.

NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, while holding short of the runway, he set the parking brake while waiting for his takeoff clearance. Upon receiving takeoff clearance, he reached down to the parking brake handle and, "quickly pushed the parking brakes back in"; however, he did not visually verify that he disengaged the parking brake. During the takeoff roll, he noticed that the airplane was not accelerating beyond about 70 knots and decided to abort the takeoff. The airplane subsequently veered to the left, exited the departure end of the runway, and impacted an airport perimeter fence. The pilot reported that he must have not fully disengaged the parking brake before takeoff and that there were no mechanical issues with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the parking brake handle was partially extended, which likely resulted in the airplane’s decreased acceleration during the takeoff roll.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Pilot did not visually verify parking brake position before takeoff.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents4

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