Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Anacortes Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Anacortes, Washington 98221
Wednesday, September 17, 2003 19:35 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported he experienced a complete wheel brake failure while taxiing for takeoff. The pilot said that he applied brakes, with little response, as the airplane neared the end of the inclined taxiway. He reported that he was not able to stop the airplane, and it continued off the end of the taxiway. After exiting the taxiway, the airplane encountered rough uneven terrain and eventually came to rest, nose down, in a drainage ditch. In a written statement, the pilot reported that on the previous landing, the airplane "shuttered violently" when he applied wheel brakes during the landing roll. He stated that after parking the airplane he noticed brake fluid "dripping" from the area of the wheel brakes. The pilot also stated that after discovering the problem with the brakes, he contacted the operator of the airplane concerning the problem. The pilot reported that the operator instructed him to "...ferry the aircraft back to ORS [Orcas Island] for maintenance." In a written report dated November 20, 2003, the operator stated that the pilot advised him that only a small amount of brake fluid had leaked from the system. Post accident examination of the wheel brake components by an investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that the brake pads were worn beyond limits, which allowed the caliper seals (O-ring) to unseat resulting in a loss of brake fluid.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot attempting to taxi the airplane with a known system deficiency. Factors include worn wheel brakes and a drainage ditch.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/17/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1935 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Anacortes |
| Event State | WASHINGTON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 98221 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 482956N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1223944W |
| Event Location Airport | ANACORTES |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 74S |
| 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 | 241 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1930 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 117 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BVS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 144 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 20 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Dusk |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 6000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 4400 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 12 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 12 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 350 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.17 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| 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) | 15790 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Seattle FSDO |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 3 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1325 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 30 2004 12:15PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Seattle, Washington |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3555L |
| NTSB Number | SEA03LA201 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 172S |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 172S8865 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2550 |
| 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 | Aug 4 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 85 |
| Airframe Hours | 785 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Rugby Aviation |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | East Sound |
| Aircraft Owner State | WA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 98245 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | -- |
| Operator State | -- |
| Operator Country | -- |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| Operator Code | RO1A |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | ORS |
| Departure City | EASTSOUND |
| Departure State | WA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1815 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 74S |
| Destination City | ANACORTES |
| Destination State | WA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Taxi |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 27 2004 5:38PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 18 |
| Runway Length | 3015 |
| Runway Width | 60 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |