Textron 172 N321EP

Summary

On 20 January 2024 at about 20:43 local time, a Textron 172 registered N321EP, operated by Epic Aviation Inc, was involved in an accident near New Smyrna Beach, Florida, 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

20 January 2024 at 20:43

Classification

Accident

Location

New Smyrna Beach, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

New Smyrna Beach Muni (EVB)

Coordinates

29.0491, -80.9481

Aircraft

Textron 172

Registration

N321EP

Category

Airplane

Year built

2021

Engines

1

Operator

Epic Aviation Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA24LA092

Nobody was injured.

A failure of the right brake during taxi, which resulted in a taxiway excursion and collision with a tree.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Prior to start-up, the student pilot performed a preflight inspection while the flight instructor reviewed the airplane maintenance discrepancy sheet. The flight instructor noted that the airplane had recently been written up for inconsistent right brake pressure. Maintenance personnel resolved the discrepancy by tightening the pilot side brake pedal and returned the airplane to service. Everything appeared visually normal during the subsequent preflight inspection, and the student and instructor performed an engine runup with no braking problems noted. During the subsequent taxi to the runway, while attempting to negotiate a turn, the right brake was not effective despite both the student and the instructor applying brake pedal pressure. The airplane went off the taxiway and ultimately struck a tree resulting in substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizer. A review of photographs taken by an FAA inspector of the disassembled braking system components revealed that the right brake master cylinder o-ring appeared worn and possibly had a flat spot. It is possible that the wear/flat-spot of the o-ring could have allowed fluid to bypass it, which would have resulted in the inconsistent brake operation described by the pilots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.