ERA17LA264

NTSB accident investigation · Consolidated Aeronautics Lake LA 4 · Orlando, FL · July 29, 2017

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
July 29, 2017, 09:30 local (13:30 UTC)
Place
Orlando, FL
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Taxi
Aircraft
N747CBConsolidated Aeronautics Lake LA 4
Defining event
Taxi-from runway: Loss of control on ground
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report April 20, 2020
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Eastern Region Aviation
Parties
FAA/FSDO
FAA report
20170729010159A
Case key
95737

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

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Probable cause

A loss of directional control during taxi operations for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information, which resulted in the airplane rolling into a ditch.

Findings · 4

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.

Performance/control parameters: directional controlAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintainedConsolidated Aeronautics LAKE LA-4-200: 5 casesAll aircraft: 3,958 casesProbable cause
Not determinedNot determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determinedConsolidated Aeronautics LAKE LA-4-200: 4 casesAll aircraft: 2,247 casesProbable cause
Terrain: sloped/uneven terrainEnvironmental issues › Physical environment · Effect on operationConsolidated Aeronautics LAKE LA-4-200: 1 caseAll aircraft: 270 casesProbable cause

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

While the noncertificated pilot was taxiing the airplane to a hangar after a local flight, he lost directional control, and the airplane then rolled into a ditch, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported that the left brake actuator had failed. A review of the airplane's maintenance logbooks revealed that the last annual inspection was completed more than 10 years before the accident. During postaccident examination of the airplane immediately after the accident, a Federal Aviation Administration inspector could not examine the brakes because of the instability of the airplane on the jacks and because the wheels were covered in mud. The owner did not make the airplane available for further examination; therefore, the reason for the loss of directional control could not be determined.

Factual narrative

On July 29, 2017, about 0930 eastern daylight time, a Consolidated Aeronautics Lake LA-4-200, N747CB, was substantially damaged during taxi at the Orlando Executive Airport (ORL), Orlando, Florida. The pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot was taxiing the airplane to a hangar, when he lost control and the airplane rolled into a ditch, where it sustained substantial damage to its right wing. The pilot stated during a telephone interview that the airplane's left brake actuator failed. Following the accident, the airplane's brakes were not inspected by FAA inspectors due to the instability of the airplane on jacks, and because the wheels were covered in mud. The owner elected not to make the airplane available for subsequent inspections, and the condition and functionality of the airplane's brakes could not be assessed. The four-seat, low-wing amphibious airplane, was manufactured in 1976. It was powered by a Lycoming IO-360, 180-horsepower engine. According to the airplane's maintenance logbooks, the last annual inspection was completed on January 25, 2007. The recorded tach time was 253.6 hours and the airframe total time was 3311.2 hours.

Aircraft

Registration
N747CB
Reported as
Consolidated Aeronautics Lake LA 4 (200)
Category
Airplane
Serial number
754
Built
1976
Airframe hours
3,311.2
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · January 25, 2007
Departed
ORL · Orlando, FL
Destination
ORL · Orlando, FL
Airport
ORL · Executive
Equipment
Unknown

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
67
Injuries
None
Seat
Left

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
250° at 10 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
25 °F
Altimeter
29.92 inHg
Observed at
ORL

Docket · 5

The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 21, 2019, 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.