# NTSB ERA22LA027: Embraer EMB500, N925DR, Orlando, FL, October 22, 2021 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report - Date: October 22, 2021, 17:50 local (21:50 UTC) - Place: Orlando, FL - Coordinates: 28.429389, -81.309 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=28.4294&lon=-81.3090&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 4 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: Embraer, FAA/FSDO, CENIPA - NTSB case key (mKey): 104154 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA22LA027 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/104154/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=104154 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA22LA027 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadvertent application of the right brake during the landing roll, which resulted in a loss of directional control and a subsequent runway excursion. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: directional control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause) ## Analysis The pilot was landing the light jet with a right quartering tailwind. He stated that only the right brake activated when he applied the brakes during the landing roll. The airplane veered right so he released the brake pressure and used left rudder pressure to steer the airplane back toward the centerline. The airplane turned “aggressively” to the left, the right wing rose, and the pilot chose to continue into the grass rather than risk overcontrolling the airplane. The right wing impacted terrain, resulting in substantial damage, and the airplane came to rest upright perpendicular to the landing runway. One of the passengers stated that the airplane was “fishtailing” before it continued off the runway into the grass. The airplane’s flight data recorder showed an increase in right brake pressure and right brake pedal position starting 8 seconds after touchdown, with no corresponding increase in left brake pressure or pedal position, consistent with application of right brake only. Upon application of the right brake, the airplane entered a series of lateral accelerations, yawing right and left, consistent with the “fishtailing” described by the passenger; then entered a left yaw that continued until the end of the recorded data. No warnings or brake fault indications were recorded, and the brake control unit operated nominally during postaccident testing. The pilot reported that he did not customarily apply brakes during the landing roll when adequate runway was available to let the airplane decelerate. Based on the available information, it is likely that the pilot inadvertently applied right brake during the landing roll, which resulted in a loss of directional control and subsequent runway excursion. ## Factual narrative On October 22, 2021, at 1750 eastern daylight time, an Embraer EMB-500 airplane, N925DR, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident in Orlando, Florida. The airline transport pilot and four passengers were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that he completed a stable RNAV/GPS approach to a landing on runway 36L at Orlando International Airport (MCO). He had lowered a wing and was using the rudder to compensate for the crosswind. After touchdown, he applied brakes, but “only the right brake activated,” and the airplane’s nose went to the right. He then released the brakes and stated that he “may still have had a little left rudder in from the crosswind landing.” The airplane “came aggressively” back to its left, and the right wing began to lift. The pilot then decided to complete the landing roll into the grass rather than risk over-controlling the airplane by trying to remain on the runway. The pilot stated that he asked for a “wind check” before landing and was told the wind was from 120° at 14 knots (kts). He said that the airplane landed on the runway centerline, after which he applied the brakes. He added, “[The airplane] Pulled to the right. Released brakes. Stepped on left rudder to come back towards centerline. Over corrected.” The pilot stated that, as he tried to steer the airplane toward the runway centerline, the wing was “lifted by wind.” He “eased up on the controls” and the airplane departed the left side of the runway. The pilot further reported that he did not customarily apply brakes after touchdown, and if there was adequate runway available, he would “let the airplane roll out” and add brakes after it had slowed. He stated that, during the accident landing, he “got on the brakes pretty soon, and I don’t know why I did that.” One passenger described the airplane “rocking back and forth aggressively” after landing. Another passenger stated that it felt like the airplane was “fishtailing” before it departed the runway surface. After departing the runway, the airplane impacted a sign, dragged the right wing, and ultimately came to rest upright facing perpendicular to the landing runway, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported having 26,000 total hours of flight experience, of which 80 hours were in the accident airplane make and model. Examination of the airplane’s maintenance records revealed that its most recent continuous airworthiness program inspection was completed October 17, 2021, at 1,767.3 total aircraft hours. The airplane’s combination cockpit voice recorder/flight data recorder and components and modules of the braking system were retained for further examination. Data downloaded from the flight recorder revealed the airplane touched down at 87 kts airspeed. Lateral acceleration deviations were recorded shortly after touchdown, before any displacement of the brake pedals occurred.As the airplane slowed, about 8 seconds after touchdown, right brake pressure increased, with corresponding changes to the right brake pedal position. Lateral accelerations to the right and left were recorded beginning about the time of the right brake input, before the airplane yawed left and continued to yaw left until the end of the data. No warnings or cautions were recorded. The manufacturer’s Functional Test Instructions were followed when testing the brake control unit (BCU), and that the BCU passed all tests. Download of the BCU’s non-volatile memory revealed there was “no unusual braking behavior or issues with the BCU at the time of the incident.” The recorded wind at 2153 (about 3 minutes after the accident) was from 090° at 12 kts, gusting to 16 kts, which would have resulted in a 90° crosswind for the landing runway. The 120°, 14-kt wind reported to the pilot just before the accident would have resulted in a right quartering tailwind, with a tailwind component of about 7 kts and a crosswind component of about 12 kts. The airplane’s maximum demonstrated crosswind component was 17 kts (this value is not considered to be limiting), and its maximum allowed takeoff and landing tailwind component was 10 kts. ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) (defining event) - [Landing-landing roll: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300) ## Aircraft - Registration: [N925DR](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N925DR), registered now, S/N 50000059, built 2009 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: EMBRAER EMB500 - Registry model: [Embraer-Empresa Brasileira De EMB-500](https://openairdocs.org/model/embraer-empresa-brasileira-de-emb-500) (registry code 3260402) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney Canada PW617F-E](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-pw617f-e) (registry code 52293, turbo-fan) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 50000059 - Year built: 2009 - Airframe hours: 1766.2 - Engines: Pratt & Whitney Canada PW617F-E 1695 lbs thrust turbo fan; Pratt & Whitney Canada PW617F-E 1820 lbs thrust turbo fan - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Scout About, LLC - Registered owner: Scout About, LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Continuous airworthiness, October 17, 2021 - Departed: CHS, Charleston, SC - Destination: Same as departure - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: MCO, Orlando Intl, runway 18R/36L, 12,004 × 200 ft, asphalt - Equipment: ADS-B, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, Data recorder, Auto-pilot ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 66; injuries: none; airline transport, private; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; seat: left; flight hours: 26,000 total, 80 in this make and model, 10,000 as pilot in command, 60 in the last 90 days, 20 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night/bright - Wind: 90° at 12 knots, gusting 16 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 86 °F, dew point 66 °F - Altimeter: 29.97 inHg - Observed at: KMCO, 1 nm away - METAR: METAR KMCO 222153Z 09012G16KT 10SM SCT060 SCT250 30/19 A2997 RMK AO2 SLP148 T03000189= ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20211022018739A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20211022018739A), Oct 22, 2021: Embraer-Empresa Brasileira De EMB-500, Orlando, FL, Substantial damage. Upon landing at Orlando international airport, rw 36L, the pilot of N925DR lost control of his aircraft and veered off of the runway and crashing about 300… ## Docket (11 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 22, 2023, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=104154. 28.6 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 11 pages, 2.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14694716&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=N925DR%20NSTB%20Form%206120.1_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Pilot's statement (item 2, PDF, 1 page, 3.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14694958&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=N925DR%20Pilot%20statement_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Memorandum for record a�� telephone interview, pilot (item 3, PDF, 1 page, 268 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14694726&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Lesniewski%20Memorandum%20for%20Record-Rel.pdf - Passenger statement - b. dalton (item 4, PDF, 1 page, 657 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14695483&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Brandon%20Dalton%20statement_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Passenger statement - s. dalton (item 5, PDF, 1 page, 1.6 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14695382&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Stephanie%20Dalton%20statement_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Docket photo array (item 6, PDF, 4 pages, 1.7 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14695266&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Docket%20Photo%20Array-Rel.pdf - Video file - surveillance (item 7, MP4, 4.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14694736&FileExtension=MP4&FileName=50000059_Surveillance-Rel.MP4 - Flight data recorder - specialista��s factual report (item 8, PDF, 13 pages, 6 photos, 1.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14828405&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ERA22LA027_FDR-Rel.pdf - Flight data recorder - attachment 1 (FDR tabular data for event flight) (item 9, CSV, 12.7 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14828876&FileExtension=csv&FileName=Attachment1-Rel.csv - Brake control unit - specialist's report (item 10, PDF, 5 pages, 318 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15195337&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Specialist%27s%20Report-Rel.pdf - Bcu evidence control form (item 11, PDF, 1 page, 142 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15358904&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=BCU%20Evidence%20Control%20Form-Rel.pdf From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.