- Date
- July 20, 1999, 15:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Lamar, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N400MAPiper PA-18-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 13, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990720009399A
- Case key
- 46826
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 left brake locked during takeoff roll for undetermined reasons.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
During takeoff roll on a test flight following maintenance in which the aircraft was not flown for an extended period of time, the left brake locked and the pilot aborted the takeoff. During the abort, the aircraft nosed over. The cause of the brake locking could not be determined.
Factual narrative
On July 20, 1999, at 1530 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-18-150, N400MA, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during an aborted takeoff from a private airstrip approximately 5 miles north of Lamar, Colorado. The commercial pilot/flight instructor/aircraft mechanic and sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for this local area test flight operating under Title 14 CFR Part 91 and no flight plan was filed.
According to the pilot, the flight was the first flight following replacement of the wing, and the aircraft had not flown in a (unspecified) "long time." In an interview, the pilot said the left brake locked during the takeoff roll and he initiated an abort. During this event, the aircraft nosed over and came to rest on its back damaging the lower cowl, spinner, propeller, windshield, left wing spar, right wing spar, both lift struts, and the rudder.
Due to damage incurred during the accident event, no determination could be made as to the cause of the brake problem.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N400MA
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-7809126
- Airframe hours
- 2,128
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Allen H. Tinnes
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 20, 1999 · 1 hours before
- Airport
- (Private-No Name), runway 8, 4,600 × 60 ft, dirt
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
- 53
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 600 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LAA, 5 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.