- Date
- April 21, 2018, 17:00 local (Apr 22, 2018, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Tucson, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8714SIrvin Stephen D Rutan Long E Z
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Runway excursion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 18, 2019
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20180421003959A
- Case key
- 97099
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 pilot’s excessive ground speed and loss of directional control while exiting the taxiway.
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.
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
According to the pilot in the retractable-nosewheel airplane, he landed about midfield on the 4,000-ft-long runway, and his approach speed was about 10 knots too fast. During the landing roll, the pilot started a right turn to exit his approaching taxiway and pressed the brakes hard because the ground speed was too fast. He reported that he heard a "small pop" and that he had "no braking control," and the airplane veered left. He released the brake pressure and retracted the nose landing gear to slow the airplane. The airplane skidded off the left side of the runway and collided with trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left canard and right wing. A Federal Aviation Administration aviation safety inspector who examined the airplane after the accident reported that the right brake fluid line failed at the brake caliper. He asserted that the brake line failure was not a material failure, rather it was the result of the airplane's collision with trees.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot in the airplane with a retractable nose-wheel, he landed about mid-field on the 4,000ft long runway, and his approach speed had been about 10 knots fast. During the landing roll, the pilot started a right turn to exit his approaching taxiway and pressed the brakes hard, because the airplane's ground speed was too fast. He reported that he heard a "small pop" and that he had "no braking control" and the airplane veered to the left. He released the brake pressure and retracted the nose landing gear to slow the airplane. The airplane skidded off the left side of the runway and collided with trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left canard and the right wing. A Federal Aviation Administration, Aviation Safety Inspector examined the airplane after the accident. He reported that the right brake fluid line failed at the brake caliper. He asserted that the brake line failure was not a material failure, rather it was the result of the airplane's collision with trees.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8714S
- Reported as
- Irvin Stephen D Rutan Long E Z (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 2037
- Built
- 1987
- Airframe hours
- 2,763
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 13, 2017
- Departed
- CNO · Chino, CA
- Destination
- RYN · Tucson, AZ
- Airport
- RYN · Ryan Field, runway 33, 4,000 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS
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
- 71
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 21, 2016
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 576 total · 346 in this make and model · 427 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.96 inHg
- Observed at
- KRYN, 1 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 29, 2018, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.8 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.