ERA11LA491

The pilot was cleared for a global positioning system approach to runway 29, which was damp/wet, although most of the approach was flown in visual meteorological conditions. He reported that he equally and moderately applied the brakes after touchdown but that the airplane pulled sharply to the left. He released the brakes and the airplane departed the left side of the runway and rolled onto wet grass with ineffective braking. The airplane then rolled into a swale, which partially collapsed the nose landing gear. No discrepancies of the brake system were noted by the pilot at the departure airport and a postaccident examination revealed no evidence of a preimpact failure or mechanical malfunction. There were no flat spots on either of the main landing gear tires and no leaks of the brake system were noted.

On September 5, 2011, about 1905 eastern daylight time, a Cessna TR182, N950RC, registered to Coral Bay Company, operated by a private individual, had a runway excursion during the landing roll at Bay Bridge Airport (W29), Stevensville, Maryland. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight from Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV), Savannah, Georgia, to W29.The airplane sustained substantial damage and the certificated commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated from SAV about 1600. The pilot stated that he executed a GPS approach to runway 29 though most of the approach was flown in visual meteorological conditions. It was not raining at the time of the accident but the runway was damp/wet and the wind was from 290 degrees at 4 knots based on the automated weather observing station located on the airport. The touchdown point was about 200 feet from the threshold of the approach end of runway 29, and after touchdown he equally and moderately applied the brakes. The airplane “pulled sharply” to the left and he released the brakes. The airplane departed the left side of the runway and rolled onto wet grass where he again applied the brakes but reported he was not able to brake effectively. The airplane rolled into a swale which partially collapsed the nose landing gear. The pilot further stated that he did not notice any discrepancy with the brakes at the departure airport. Postaccident inspection of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed damage to the firewall. The airplane was raised on jacks and the normal brake system appeared to be in good shape with the exception that the brake caliper locating pins were “stiff” which did not allow the calipers to move freely. The brake reservoirs were full of fluid, and no leaks were noted. The brakes operationally checked satisfactory with no indications of a brake failure noted. Inspection of the main landing gear tires revealed no flat spots indicating that the brakes were locked up on landing. A surface observation taken at the accident airport at 1906, or about 1 minute after the accident indicated the wind was from 250 degrees at 3 knots.