Ayres S2R N2245S

Summary

On 9 May 2020 at about 19:10 local time, a Ayres S2R registered N2245S, operated by Farmers Services, was involved in an accident near Imperial, California, United States. One person was 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

9 May 2020 at 19:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Imperial, California, United States

Nearest airport

Imperial County (IPL)

Coordinates

32.8306, -115.5725

Aircraft

Ayres S2R

Registration

N2245S

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Farmers Services

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Imperial → Imperial

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR20LA172

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's loss of control during a landing roll due to a failure of the main O-ring in the right brake assembly, which resulted in a loss of brake pressure and subsequent brake failure.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Shortly after landing, the airplane veered left. The pilot used right rudder and applied right brake to counteract the turn, and the airplane began to straighten out. Immediately after, he felt that the right brake was not working, and the airplane again made an immediate turn to the left. The airplane exited the left side of the runway, the left-wing tip impacted the ground, and the airplane spun to the left, which resulted in a collapse of the left main landing gear and substantial damage to the left wing. An examination of the right brake assembly revealed that the center piston O-ring was damaged, and the right brake hydraulic fluid reservoir was empty. These discrepancies resulted in the loss of brake pressure and subsequent failure of the right brake.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.