- Date
- November 2, 1991, 10:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- San Luis Obispo, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N71TQuestaire Venture
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 27, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 27497
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 control the aircraft during the landing roll due to a failure of the left brake and nose wheel steering systems. The failure of the brake and steering systems was due to a deterioration of the 'o' ring seals caused by the use of hydraulic fluid incompatible with the rubber material in the seals. A factor in the accident was the inadequate system design by the kit manufacturer.
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
On the landing roll out, the aircraft began a gradual right turn which the pilot was unable to correct due to a failure of the left brake and nose wheel steering systems. The aircraft exited the right side of the runway and the nose gear fork failed. The aircraft nosed over. The aircraft was examined by an FAA airworthiness inspector. The inspector noted that the hydraulic brake and nose wheel steering systems were interconnected. The 'o' ring seals in the brake system were found to be badly deteriorated and he reported that the hydraulic fluid had leaked out. The kit manufacturer recommends using an automotive type fluid in the system. The inspector stated his opinion that the automotive brake fluid was incompatible with the 'o' ring material.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N71T
- Reported as
- Questaire Venture
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 26
- Airframe hours
- 2
- Engine
- Continental IO-550D, 280 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Michael C. Thomas
- Registered owner
- Michael C. Thomas
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 30, 1991 · 2 hours before
- Airport
- SBP · Mcchesney Fld, runway 29, 4,799 × 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
- 43
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,300 total · 2 in this make and model · 5 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F
Other investigations on N71T · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.