Piper PA-31-350 N555GK

Summary

On 17 October 2013 at about 16:30 local time, a Piper PA-31-350 registered N555GK, operated by Lunsford Air Consulting Inc, was involved in an accident near Franklin, North Carolina, United States. 8 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

17 October 2013 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Franklin, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Macon County Airport (1A5)

Coordinates

35.2222, -83.4200

Aircraft

Piper PA-31-350

Registration

N555GK

Category

Airplane

Year built

1974

Engines

2

Operator

Lunsford Air Consulting Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Palm Coast → Franklin

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14LA022

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the left main landing gear brake line during landing due to the loss of hydraulic fluid. Contributing to the accident was a fatigue crack through the brake line that had formed due to contact with a swaged sleeve as a result of exfoliation corrosion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during the preflight inspection, he checked both the left and right brake reservoirs for proper servicing, and he found that they were ready for flight. During the landing roll, the pilot applied the left and right brake pedals; however, the left brake did not respond, and the airplane departed the right side of the runway. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that there was a hydraulic fluid leak in the left main landing gear brake line. Further examination revealed that the brake line failed due to a fatigue crack that had propagated through the cross-section of the brake line, which resulted in the hydraulic fluid leak. The fatigue cracking was likely due to the detachment of the swaged compression sleeve and nut from the brake line due to exfoliation corrosion. The exfoliation corrosion likely resulted from or was exacerbated by consistent introduction of water and contact between two the different metals in the aluminum sleeve and the stainless steel brake line. A review of the airplane's maintenance records revealed that the airplane's last annual inspection occurred about 3 months before the accident. According to the mechanic who performed the inspection, he performed a visual inspection of the brake system for looseness, leakage, and corrosion and physically checked the tightness of the "B" nut at the brake caliper in accordance with the 100-hour phase checklist; however, he did not note any problems with the left brake line.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.