- Date
- May 14, 1999, 09:45 local (16:45 UTC)
- Place
- Buckeye, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9661SChampion 7GCAA
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 5, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990514005269A
- Case key
- 46318
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
Failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing rollout.
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
The pilot stated that he performed an engine run-up before departing for the flight and noted no problems with the brake system. He applied the brakes on the landing rollout, but the left brake did not activate and the airplane veered to the right, ran off the runway side, and collided with a dirt embankment. The brake system was inspected and found to be intact and with no fluid leaks. A functional check was also performed on the left brake with no anomalies noted.
Factual narrative
On May 14, 1999, at 0945 hours mountain standard time, a Citabria 7GCAA, N9661S, veered off runway 17, ran into a ditch, and bent the left wing while landing at the Buckeye, Arizona, airport. The airplane, operated by Turf Soaring School under 14 CFR Part 91, sustained substantial damage. The airline transport pilot and one passenger, the sole occupants, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions existed for the personal flight that had departed the Pleasant Valley Airport, Peoria, Arizona, at 0915. The flight was scheduled to terminate at the Buckeye airport. No flight plan was filed.
The pilot stated that a run-up was conducted at the Pleasant Valley Airport and no discrepancies were noted with the brakes. He said that the touchdown at Buckeye was normal and on the landing rollout he applied brakes, but the left brake did not activate. He stated that the airplane veered to the right off of the runway. The pilot reported that he took his right foot off the right brake to keep the airplane going in a forward direction. He stated that there was an obstruction in the airplane's path (a hill) and he applied right brake to go around the obstruction but the left main wheel of the airplane had entered a ditch and bent the left wing. The pilot stated that weather was not an issue, and that conditions were clear and the wind was calm.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector who examined the airplane, the brake system was intact, with no evidence of a fluid leak. He further reported that he was able actuate the left brake. The inspector stated that during his inspection he was unable to find any discrepancies in the brake system that could cause a failure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9661S
- Reported as
- Champion 7GCAA
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 78
- Airframe hours
- 8,405
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-C2A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Baboquivari Soaring School, doing business as Turf Soaring School
- Registered owner
- Roy M. Coulliette
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 1, 1998 · 21 hours before
- Departed
- AZ05 · Peoria, AZ
- Destination
- BXK
- Airport
- BXK · Buckeye, runway 17, 4,300 × 75 ft, asphalt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 53
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 6,307 total · 45 in this make and model · 3,285 as pilot in command · 37 in the last 90 days · 17 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PHX, 33 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.