Piper PA-22-135 N8982C

Summary

On 23 November 2003 at about 20:00 local time, a Piper PA-22-135 registered N8982C, operated by Mednicoff, Steve J., was involved in an accident near Emmett, Idaho, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 November 2003 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Emmett, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Emmett Municipal (S78)

Coordinates

43.8542, -116.5444

Aircraft

Piper PA-22-135

Registration

N8982C

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Mednicoff, Steve J.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Emmett → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA04LA021

Nobody was injured.

Brake failure as a result of inadequate hydraulic (brake) fluid in the aircraft's closed brake system. Contributing factors were the pilot's overall lack of experience in the aircraft make/model, the cold soaked brake system due to the low temperatures, and the embankment and ditch.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 118 hour pilot had less than 16 hours in the make/model, and the aircraft was equipped with a closed hydraulic brake system which was temperature sensitive. The pilot departed on a local flight, flew two touch and go landings and then climbed out to a higher (cooler) altitude before returning to the airfield for a full stop landing. During the landing roll the pilot was unable to achieve braking and the aircraft rolled off the upwind end of the runway, down an embankment and into a ditch. A significant drop in temperature had taken place over the previous several days to the flight and, according to a pilot/mechanic with 40 years of experience in the make/model, the aircraft's braking system would become ineffective if the system had less than optimal amount of hydraulic fluid and was then subjected to a significant cold soaking. Post-crash examination of the brakes by an FAA inspector revealed no mechanical malfunction, however the examination was conducted in a heated hangar.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.