Piper PA-22-160 N9403D

Summary

On 19 August 2008 at about 22:52 local time, a Piper PA-22-160 registered N9403D was involved in an accident near Jeannette, Pennsylvania, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 August 2008 at 22:52

Classification

Accident

Location

Jeannette, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Greensburg Jeannette Regional (5G8)

Coordinates

40.3764, -79.6083

Aircraft

Piper PA-22-160

Registration

N9403D

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lock Haven → Jeannette

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

MIA08LA168

Nobody was injured.

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

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full 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."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.