Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Canton - Plymouth - Mettetal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Plymouth, Michigan 48170
Sunday, October 20, 2002 11:20 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane received substantial damage when it struck a visual approach slope indicator light after a loss of control during landing. A fire subsequently erupted and was extinguished by the pilot and airport personnel. The pilot reported that during the landing his right brake was not working. He stated that he attempted to stop using the left brake and compensating with rudder. The aircraft veered to the right, departed the runway, and struck a visual approach slope indicator light. The pilot stated he had maintenance performed on the brakes twice in the previous 2 months, at which time the mechanic bled the lines and added fluid. He stated that he had flown the airplane the day before with no problems. Subsequent to the accident, a seal in the brake master cylinder was found defective.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot not maintaining directional control during landing and the inoperative right main landing gear brake. Contributing factors were the failed brake master cylinder seal, resulting in a hydraulic leak, the inadequate preflight by the pilot, the fuel fire, and the pilot intentionally operating the airplane with a known brake system problem.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/20/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1120 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Plymouth |
| Event State | MICHIGAN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 48170 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 422100N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0832730W |
| Event Location Airport | Canton - Plymouth - Mettetal |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 1D2 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 696 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1054 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 150 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | DTW |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 646 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 10 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 3 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 190 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.01 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KDTW 200054Z 27007KT 10SM BKN055 08/03 A2998 |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 13921 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 22 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1000 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 30 2003 9:55AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Detroit, Michigan |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N56655 |
| NTSB Number | CHI03LA011 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Unknown |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-32-300 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 32-7440012 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3400 |
| 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 | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jan 2 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 137.32 |
| Airframe Hours | 5049.12 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | David Dean Grear |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2460 Persimmon Place |
| Aircraft Owner City | Belmont |
| Aircraft Owner State | MI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 49306 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | David D. Grear |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 2460 Persimmon Pl NE |
| Operator City | Belmont |
| Operator State | MI |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 49306 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | -- |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | 8D4 |
| Departure City | Sparta |
| Departure State | MI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1030 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | 1D2 |
| Destination City | Plymouth |
| Destination State | MI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 1 2003 9:10AM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 36 |
| Runway Length | 2556 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |