- Date
- July 6, 2008, 12:15 local (18:15 UTC)
- Place
- Hailey, ID
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N2544WLancair LC41-550FG
- Defining event
- Taxi-to runway: Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report June 11, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20080706840019A
- Case key
- 68384
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 loss of directional control while taxiing due to the failure of the right brake.
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
The airplane was designed to use differential braking for directional control while taxiing. The pilot reported that while taxiing for departure, the right brake failed. Subsequently, the airplane departed the left side of the taxiway, impacted a pole and went down an embankment, striking an airport perimeter fence. The left composite wing tip was split open and the wing's leading edge had an 8- to 10-inch chordwise rip in it. Postaccident examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector found that the right brake O-ring in the piston that operates the caliper was hard and flat. When brake fluid was put in the system and the brakes were pumped, the brake fluid was observed to pass directly through the right-hand caliper onto the ground.
Factual narrative
On July 6, 2008, approximately 1215 mountain daylight time, a Lancair Company LC41-550FG (Columbia 400), N2544W, sustained substantial damage when it impacted a pole and fence while taxiing out for takeoff at Friedman Memorial Airport (SUN), Hailey, Idaho. The commercial pilot and his passenger were not injured. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross-country flight, which was originating at the time of the accident. A flight plan had not been filed.
The pilot reported that when taxiing this airplane, differential braking is used for directional control, and that while taxiing for departure, the right brake failed. Subsequently, the airplane departed the left side of the taxiway, impacted a pole and went down an embankment, striking an airport perimeter fence. The left composite wing tip was split open and the wing's leading edge had an 8- to 10-inch chordwise rip in it.
Postaccident examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector found the right brake O-ring in the piston that operates the caliper to be hard and flat. When brake fluid was put in the system and the brakes were pumped, the brake fluid was observed to pass directly through the right-hand caliper onto the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2544W
- Reported as
- Lancair LC41-550FG
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 41530
- Airframe hours
- 46
- Engine
- Cont Motor TSIO-550 SER, 280 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Mccormick Enterprises Inc
- Registered owner
- Mccormick Enterprises Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 30, 2008
- Departed
- SUN · Hailey, ID
- Destination
- BOI · Boise, ID
- Airport
- SUN · Friedman Memorial Airport
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
- 45
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 16, 2006
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,749 total · 49 in this make and model · 2,610 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 110° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SUN
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.