- Date
- April 4, 2025, 16:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- Vancouver, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9404NPiper PA-28R-200
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20250404007249A
- Case key
- 200334
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
A failure of the brake system during landing due to a hydraulic fluid leak, which resulted in a runway excursion.
Findings · 2
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 pilot reported that during a test flight following an annual inspection, he landed normally, but the brakes faded almost immediately after he applied them. The pilot exited the runway, and the airplane collided with a fence, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing. Postaccident examination of the brake system revealed a small leak at the brake line fitting at the left caliper and the brake fluid reservoir was 2/3 empty.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9404N
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28R-200
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28R-35115
- Built
- 1969
- Airframe hours
- 3,000
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 27, 2025
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- VUO · Pearson Filed Airport, runway 08, 3,200 × 60 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, Angle of attack indicator, Stall warning system, Handheld GPS, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display
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
- 76
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 5, 2023
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 2,875 total · 1,200 in this make and model · 2,220 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.25 inHg
- Observed at
- KVUO, 3 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KVUO 050053Z AUTO VRB05KT 10SM CLR 21/02 A3025 RMK AO2 SLP245 T02060017
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 18, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.7 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.