31st of August, Brakes, Blog #718
- V2Aviation
- 8 hours ago
- 2 min read
With two people on-board (pilot and passenger), a Cessna 510 Citation Mustang was to operate a flight from El Monte-San Gabriel Valley Airport (KEMT) to Thermal Airport (KTRM), both in the state of California, USA. The flight was to be operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The weather was good with a 3 knots south-easterly wind, a temperature of 28°C and a barometric pressure of 29.94 inHg (1014 mbar). There were no clouds, and the visibility was 10 miles. After all flight preparations were completed, the engines were started and the aircraft was taxied towards runway 01.
When approaching runway 01, the aircraft was stopped and the parking brake was set while awaiting the take-off clearance. Once the take-off clearance was received, the pilot reached down to the parking brake handle and quickly pushed it back in. Subsequently, the take-off was initiated and the aircraft started to accelerate down the runway. When approaching 70 knots, the pilot observed the acceleration was abnormal, to such a point that the aircraft would not accelerate above 70 knots.
This led the pilot to decide to abort the take-off. Thrust levers were retarded, and wheel brakes were applied. During the deceleration, the aircraft veered to the left. The pilot was unable to correct the deviation of the centre-line, resulting in the aircraft exiting the runway, colliding with a fence and coming to a stop about 800 feet beyond the departure end of the runway. Both the pilot and the passenger sustained minor injuries, there was no post-accident fire. Damage to the aircraft was to substantial that it was written off.
An investigation was launched by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). As part of the investigation the aircraft was examined by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector. structural damage was found on both wings and the fuselage. The inspector also observed that the parking brake handle was partially extended. The pilot stated that he must not have pushed the parking brake handle all the way in, and that he never visually verified its position before take-off.
Based on the pilot statement and the findings by the Federal Aviation Administration inspector the NTSB concluded that the probable cause of this accident was:
"The pilot's failure to disengage the parking brake before take-off, which resulted in decreased acceleration and a subsequent runway overrun following an aborted take-off"
The NTSB Aviation Investigation Final Report, which served as the source for this blog, can be accessed by clicking on the .pdf file below;
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