CEN13LA459

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 180H · Greencastle, IN · July 25, 2013

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
July 25, 2013, 11:00 local (15:00 UTC)
Place
Greencastle, IN
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N28RRCessna 180H
Defining event
Landing-landing roll: Abrupt maneuver
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report January 30, 2014
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Central Region
Parties
Federal Aviation Administration
FAA report
20130725014609A
Case key
87674

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

On this page

Probable cause

The pilot's excessive application of the right brake during the landing, which resulted in a runway excursion.

Findings · 2

NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.

Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.

Analysis

When the pilot applied the airplane's wheel brakes during the landing roll on an asphalt runway, he heard a "metal clanging noise." The airplane veered off the right side of the runway and tipped over on the left wing. This landing was the pilot's first landing on an asphalt surface since the brakes had been serviced and the right brake pads replaced. Most of the pilot's previous landings had been performed on grass strips. During a postaccident examination, the right brake assembly was disassembled and no preaccident malfunctions were found with the brake, its associated brake lines, or the master cylinder.

Factual narrative

On July 25, 2013, about 1100 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 180H airplane, N28RR, impacted the ground after landing at the Putnam County Airport (4I7), Greencastle, Indiana. The pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing spar and the left horizontal stabilizer spar. The airplane was registered to and operated by Quinet Life and Casualty Corporation under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight which operated without a flight plan. The flight originated from Sheridan Airport (5I4), Sheridan, Indiana, at 1030 and was destined for 4I7. According to the pilot, he stated that when the airplane touched down on the runway and the brakes were applied, he heard a "metal clanging noise"; the airplane immediately made a hard right turn, exited the runway, and tipped over on the left wing. According to the responding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, this was the pilot's first landing on an asphalt surface since the brakes had been serviced and that his previous landings had all been on grass strips. The right wheel brake pads were replaced on May 10, 2013. According to the airport manager who was a witness to the landing, the pilot made a normal landing on the runway. He looked away for a minute and then heard a crash. He spoke with the pilot after the accident; the pilot stated that the right brake "chattered" and made a sharp right turn. A postaccident examination was conducted by the FAA inspector. The right brake assembly was disassembled and no preaccident malfunctions or anomalies were found with the brake, its associated brake lines, or the master cylinder.

Aircraft

Registration
N28RR
Reported as
Cessna 180H
Category
Airplane
Serial number
18052241
Airframe hours
1,933
Engine
Cont Motor O-470 SERIES, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Operator
Quinet Life & Casualty Corp
Registered owner
Quinet Life & Casualty Corp
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · April 1, 2013 · 15 hours before
Departed
5I4 · Sheridan, IN
Destination
4I7 · Greencastle, IN
Airport
4I7 · Putnam County Airport, runway 18, 4,987 × 100 ft, asphalt

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Age
69
Injuries
None
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Medical
Class 3, With waivers/limitations
Seat
Left
Flight hours
702 total · 363 in this make and model · 702 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
10° at 4 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
72 °F, dew point 55 °F
Altimeter
30.10 inHg
Observed at
KHUF, 25 nm away

Docket · 5

The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 4, 2013, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.6 MB in all.

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.

Other investigations on N28RR · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.