Rowan County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Salisbury, North Carolina 28144
Sunday, January 19, 1997 16:30 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During taxi back for takeoff after landing, the aircraft was pulling to the left, and the student pilot believed the left brake was sticking. The flight instructor (CFI) took control of the aircraft. He stopped, got out, and checked the tires, which he found properly inflated. The CFI then taxied up and down the taxiway several times. The CFI and student then elected to fly the aircraft back to the departure airport, since a mechanic was not available at their location. Before starting their takeoff, they observed smoke coming from the left main gear. After shutting down the engine and exiting the aircraft, they found the left main gear was on fire. The fire spread and destroyed the aircraft. Postcrash examination of the left main gear brake pads and disk showed the pads were worn past the point of the pad retaining rivets. A piece of pad had broken off, and the disk had deep grooves cut into it. The wheel bearings showed no evidence of failure.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

continued operation of the aircraft by the flight instructor (CFI) and student after identifying a brake problem, which resulted in a fire that erupted from the brake system and subsequently destroyed the aircraft.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/19/1997
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1630
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City SALISBURY
Event State NORTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 28144
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport ROWAN COUNTY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID RUQ
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 20
Airport Elevation 773
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1651 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 240
Weather Observation Facility ID CLT
Elevation of weather observation facility 773
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 35
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 8000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 25
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 1
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 0
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 128
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jan 19 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1850
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:06PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N81307
NTSB Number MIA97LA067
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Grumman American
Aircraft Model AA-5B
Aircraft Series Identifier AA-5B
Aircraft Serial Number AA5B0490
Certified Max Gross Weight 2400
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 19 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 12
Airframe Hours 3007
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name PYRAMID SCAFFOLD SERVICES, INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 5501 PATTERSON AVENUE
Aircraft Owner City RICHMOND
Aircraft Owner State VA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 23226
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name JONATHAN K. LANE
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 7701 RATHLINE COURT
Operator City CHARLOTTE
Operator State NC
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 28270
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code 3N8
Departure City CONCORD
Departure State NC
Departure Country
Departure Time 1545
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code RUQ
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Taxi
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 20
Runway Length 5500
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --