Cessna 340A N340BG

Summary

On 1 June 2011 at about 23:40 local time, a Cessna 340A registered N340BG, operated by Humanitarian Airlift International, was involved in an accident near Fullerton, California, 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

1 June 2011 at 23:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Fullerton, California, United States

Nearest airport

Fullerton Municipal (FUL)

Coordinates

33.8719, -117.9797

Aircraft

Cessna 340A

Registration

N340BG

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Humanitarian Airlift International

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Riverside → Fullerton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR11LA363

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inability to maintain directional control during landing due to the left brake's degraded performance due to oil contamination, which resulted from the fatigue failure of an oil line component.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, at the conclusion of a flight, he made a normal landing and commenced a turn off the runway. While negotiating the turn toward a taxiway, the left brake ceased to properly function, and the airplane rolled into the soft dirt terrain adjacent to the taxiway. The subsequent examination of the airplane revealed that a weld had fractured in fatigue in the left engine's oil return line, which was located near the left main landing gear wheel assembly. The wheel and brake assembly were covered in oil. The oil significantly inhibited the brake's functionality and effectively reduced the braking capability to zero, which resulted in the pilot's loss of directional control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.