Cessna 402 N404PJ

Summary

On 9 April 2023 at about 20:11 local time, a Cessna 402 registered N404PJ, operated by First Class Air Charter LLC, was involved in an accident near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, United States. 7 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

9 April 2023 at 20:11

Classification

Accident

Location

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Inte (FLL)

Coordinates

26.0717, -80.1497

Aircraft

Cessna 402

Registration

N404PJ

Category

Airplane

Year built

1981

Engines

2

Operator

First Class Air Charter LLC

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Nassau → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA23LA189

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s ineffective use of the airplane’s brakes, which resulted in a runway overrun.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the multi-engine airplane was attempting to land on an 8,000-ft-long runway at the conclusion of an on-demand air taxi flight. He stated that the airplane touched down on the wet runway about midfield and the left brake did not work. The airplane subsequently travelled off the end of the runway into an engineered materials arresting system, where it came to rest upright. A postaccident examination of the airplane occurred in the pilot’s hangar 2 days after the accident. By that time, the pilot had begun repairs without authorization. The pilot stated that he removed and shipped the left brake assembly out for service; however, he could not provide the location of where the left brake assembly was sent. The examination also found that the left main landing gear tire displayed a large flat spot. Because left brake was not available for examination, its condition and functionality could not be evaluated. However, the large flat spot observed on the tire suggested that the brake was functioning, and that the wheel was likely skidding on the wet runway during the roll, and thus not able to effectively slow the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.