ERA13LA048

The pilot stated that, as he was taxiing the airplane, it felt as if the brakes were "not working properly" and "dragging." He chose to return to the ramp to have the airplane inspected. After parking the airplane and while he was shutting down the engine, a lineman approached and told the pilot that the airplane's wheels were on fire. The pilot and passenger subsequently egressed the airplane without injury. Postaccident examinations revealed fire damage to the left and right main landing gear, both wings, and the underside of the fuselage but no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations.

On October 21, 2012, about 1530 eastern daylight time, a Cirrus SR22, N6839R, registered to and operated by a private individual, was substantially damaged during a brake fire while taxiing at Palm Beach County Glades Airport (PHK), Pahokee, Florida. The private pilot and the passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight which was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight was originating at the time of the accident. According to the pilot, after refueling the airplane at PHK on a multi-leg flight from Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport, Indianapolis, Indiana (UMP) to Lantana Airport (LNA), Lantana, Florida, he began taxiing to the runway for departure. During the taxi, he felt that the brakes were "not working properly" and "dragging", so he elected to return to the ramp in order to have the airplane inspected. After parking the airplane, and while he was shutting down the engine, a lineman approached and advised the pilot of the fire. The pilot and passenger subsequently egressed without injury and the fire was extinguished. Initial examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that both the left and right landing gear were fire damaged, and that the underside of the fuselage and both wings were substantially damaged. Further examination, by a FAA inspector, did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions or anomlies that would have precluded normal operations. According to FAA records, the pilot held a private pilot certificate, with a rating for airplane single-engine land. The pilot reported 1,030 total hours of flight experience; of which, 600 of those hours were in the same make and model as the accident airplane. The four-seat, low-wing, tricycle-gear airplane, was manufactured in 2002. It was powered by one Continental Motors IO-550, 310-horsepower engine, equipped with a Hartzell controllable-pitch propeller. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on October 2, 2012. At that time the brake system was disassembled and inspected in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. According to the pilot, the brake system fluid and brake pads were changed. At the time of the accident, the airplane and the engine had accumulated 603 total hours of time in service. The 1553 recorded weather observation at Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), 35 miles east of the accident site included wind from 010 degrees at 9 knots, 10 miles visibility, few clouds at 5,000, temperature 28 degrees C, dew point 16 degree C, and a barometric altimeter setting of 29.95 inches of mercury.