Swearingen SA226-T(B) N36LC

Summary

On 6 May 2022 at about 03:10 local time, a Swearingen SA226-T(B) registered N36LC, operated by Cloud Peak Aviation, was involved in an accident near Denver, Colorado, 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

6 May 2022 at 03:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Denver, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Centennial Airport (APA)

Coordinates

39.5659, -104.8488

Aircraft

Swearingen SA226-T(B)

Registration

N36LC

Category

Airplane

Year built

1980

Engines

2

Operator

Cloud Peak Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Grand Island → Denver

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CEN22LA195

Nobody was injured.

The captain’s failure to ensure that the parking brake was correctly released before takeoff, which resulted in seized brakes during landing and a subsequent loss of directional control and runway excursion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The captain reported slower than normal acceleration during the takeoff roll. At 60 to 80 knots, the captain “pushed in the parking brake” handle and continued the takeoff. The crew reported no anomalies on the departure or while en route. While landing at the destination, the airplane swerved right and the captain lost directional control, which resulted in a runway excursion and substantial damage to the right wing. Postaccident examination revealed that the right main landing gear brakes were seized and the right main landing gear tires had flat spots down to the wheel rims, consistent with no tire rotation during landing. No preaccident anomalies were observed with the braking system that would have precluded normal operation. According to the flight manual, proper release of the parking brake required the brake pedals to be depressed while the parking brake handle was pushed fully forward. The parking brake was likely not correctly released before takeoff, which allowed the right brakes to retain pressure and led to the loss of directional control during landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.