- Date
- November 10, 2004, 11:40 local (16:40 UTC)
- Place
- Clarksburg, WV
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N4306CChampion 7EC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 8, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20041110031139A
- Case key
- 60537
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 inability to operate the airplane's brake pedals which resulted in the loss of aircraft control.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
While taxiing the airplane, the pilot reported to the tower controller that he "couldn't find the brakes." Instead of turning right, toward the runway, the airplane went straight off the end of the taxiway, down a 60-foot embankment, and impacted rocks at the bottom of a drainage ditch. During a post-accident examination, the right main landing gear was found bent up under the airplane; however, there was no visible damage to the braking system. The left main landing gear brake was tested, and functioned normally. The brake pedals were "rather small," and were operated by the pilot's heels instead of the more conventional toe brakes.
Factual narrative
On November 10, 2004, about 1140 eastern standard time, a Champion 7EC, N4306C, was substantially damaged while taxiing at Harrison/Marion Regional Airport (CKB), Clarksburg, West Virginia. The certificated private pilot was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for local personal flight, conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the pilot, he was taxiing northbound on taxiway A, and was unable to turn the airplane eastbound, to runway 21. The airplane "proceeded straight ahead, over the edge of a steep embankment, and came to rest in a drainage ditch at the bottom of the hill."
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector reported that while the pilot was taxiing to runway 21, he advised the tower controller that he "couldn't find the brakes." The airplane went off the taxiway, down a 60-foot embankment, and impacted rocks at the bottom of a drainage ditch. The inspector further noted that the brake pedals were "rather small," and "designed to be operated by the pilot's heels, rather than the more conventional toe brakes."
During a post-accident examination, the airplane's throttle control was found in the idle position, and the mixture was off. The right main landing gear was bent up under the airplane; however, there was no visible damage to the braking system. The left main landing gear brake was tested, and functioned normally.
Weather, recorded at the airport about the time of the accident, included clear skies, and variable winds at 4 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4306C
- Reported as
- Champion 7EC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 306
- Airframe hours
- 2,322
- Engine
- Continental C90-12F, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 8, 2004 · 15 hours before
- Departed
- CKB · Clarksburg, WV
- Airport
- CKB · Harrison/Marion, runway 21, 7,000 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 81
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- August 16, 2002
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 934 total · 897 in this make and model · 839 as pilot in command · 12 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.40 inHg
- Observed at
- CKB
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N4306C · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.