# Accident 20180211014499A: Shanks V Roger VARI-EZE, Santa Monica, CA, February 11, 2018

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 11, 2018, 13:00 local time
- Place: Santa Monica, CA
- Airport: Santa Monica Municipal
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Rollout
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.0125° N, 118.4539° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.0125&lon=-118.4539&mi=10
- Aircraft: N944X, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N944X-2019-07-11) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Shanks V Roger VARI-EZE (registry code 05609UQ, https://openairdocs.org/model/shanks-v-roger-vari-eze) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental 0-200 series (registry code 17020, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SHANKS V ROGER VARI-EZE
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR 0-200 SERIES
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 260 total, 120 in this make and model, 9 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR18LA089](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR18LA089) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20180211014499A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ON FEBRUARY 11, 2018, AT 1258 PACIFIC STANDARD TIME, AN EXPERIMENTAL AMATEUR- BUILT ROGER V SHANKS (RUTAN AIRCRAFT FACTORY) VARIEZE, N944X, STRUCK A HANGAR DURING ITS LANDING ROLLOUT AT SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND PILOT RATED PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED. THE AIRPLANE SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE NOSE STRUCTURE AND CANARD. THE AIRPLANE WAS REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 AS A PERSONAL FLIGHT. THE LOCAL FLIGHT DEPARTED BRACKETT FIELD AIRPORT, LA VERNE, CALIFORNIA ABOUT 1240. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED.

THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE LANDING APPROACH TO RUNWAY 21 WAS UNEVENTFUL, AND THAT HE LANDED ABOUT 200FT BEYOND THE RUNWAY NUMBERS. AS SOON AS THE NOSE WHEEL TOUCHED DOWN, THE PILOT APPLIED BRAKE PRESSURE AND THE AIRPLANE BEGAN TO SWERVE TO THE LEFT. HE RELEASED THE BRAKE AND COUNTERED WITH RIGHT RUDDER, AND THEN APPLIED BRAKE PRESSURE AGAIN, BUT THE AIRPLANE CONTINUED TO VEER LEFT. HE THEN PROCEEDED TO ALTERNATELY CYCLE THE BRAKE AND RIGHT RUDDER AS THE GROUND ROLL PROGRESSED. THE AIRPLANE HAD NOT APPRECIABLY SLOWED DOWN, AND, AWARE THAT THE TERRAIN DROPPED OFF BEYOND THE RUNWAY END, HE DECIDED TO APPLY FULL BRAKING. THE AIRPLANE THAN VEERED RAPIDLY TO THE LEFT, CROSSED OVER THE ADJACENT TAXIWAY, AND STRUCK A HANGAR.

THE AIRPLANE WAS EQUIPPED WITH A FREE-CASTERING NOSE WHEEL, WITH GROUND STEERING ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH DIFFERENTIAL BRAKING ONCE RUDDER EFFECTIVENESS DIMINISHED AT LOWER SPEEDS. THE DESIGN DID NOT INCORPORATE CONVENTIONAL TOE-BRAKE, BUT INSTEAD BRAKE PRESSURE WAS APPLIED DIRECTLY VIA THE RUDDER PEDALS ONCE THEY HAD BEEN PUSHED BEYOND THE PEDALS RUDDER TRAVEL LIMITS.

SKID MARKS ON THE RUNWAY INDICATED THAT THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED THE RUNWAY SURFACE JUST BEFORE TAXIWAY WHERE THE TERRAIN DROPPED AWAY. RUNWAY 21 SLOPES DOWNHILL, WITH A GRADIENT OF 1.2%.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB WPR18LA089](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR18LA089), Feb 11, 2018: Shanks V Roger Vari EZE (N944X), Santa Monica, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: An undetected fluid leak in the right brake line, which resulted in a reduction of braking effectiveness at the right wheel and a loss of directional control during the landing roll.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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