Nelson MURPHY SR3500 MOOSE N623AM
15 June 2007 · Roche Harbor, Washington, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 15 June 2007 at about 01:00 local time, a Nelson MURPHY SR3500 MOOSE registered N623AM was involved in an accident near Roche Harbor, Washington, United States. 4 people were on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 01:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Roche Harbor, Washington, United States
- Nearest airport
- Roche Harbor Airport (WA09)
- Coordinates
- 48.6203, -123.1422
- Aircraft
- Nelson MURPHY SR3500 MOOSE
- Registration
- N623AM
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Anacortes → Roche Harbor
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- SEA07CA159
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Probable cause
The jamming of the left brake during landing. A factor was the kit manufacturer's design of the brake system.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot said he was landing on runway 07 with a 5-knot right crosswind. He said that shortly after touchdown, the aircraft started a slight drift to the right. The pilot said he applied left rudder to compensate and felt a "thunk" as the left rudder pedal locked forward, over center, underneath the brake pedal, which prevented the use of the left brake. The aircraft briefly lurched to the left. He applied hard right rudder, but with no apparent effect. He next applied right brake and intentionally ground looped the aircraft to prevent going down an embankment on the south side of the runway. The airplane's left main landing gear collapsed, followed by the left wing, left aileron, and forward fuselage being wrinkled and bent. The pilot said that the rudder/brake pedal assembly has only one master cylinder for the braking system and it is located on the right hand side. He said there is a mechanical linkage from the right to the left, which is prone to jamming in certain rudder pedal deflections. He said that other pilot's have reported this problem with their amateur-built airplanes manufactured from the same kit.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Jul 2007 | Cessna 170 | Spanaway, Washington, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 24 Feb 2007 | Cessna 180 | Bellingham, Washington, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 9 Jul 2007 | Piper PA-12 | Mukilteo, Washington, United States | Marc A. Olson | Serious injuries | - |
| 14 Jul 2007 | Yakovlev YAK-55M | Everett, Washington, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 7 Jun 2007 | Cessna 210-5 (205) | Quilcene, Washington, United States | Norma J. Ingham | Fatal | 2 |
| 26 Aug 2007 | Curtiss-Wright TRAVEL AIR 4000 | Blaine, Washington, United States | - | No injuries | - |