Half Moon Bay Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Half Moon Bay, California 94019
Monday, March 7, 2005 20:40 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot taxied the airplane from the parking area to the end of the runway for takeoff, which was about 1.5 miles, with the right brake on to maintain alignment with the taxiway. He had turned onto the runway, when the passenger saw flames coming from the right main landing gear brake area. The airplane sustained structural damage to the right wing from the fire. The pilot said that for the past several months, the airplane had been "pulling left," and he had to drag the right brake in order to taxi straight. Two weeks prior to the accident, the pilot informed maintenance of the issue. Maintenance personnel found that the left brake cylinder and assembly had been leaking fluid. They repaired the left brake assembly, and returned the airplane to service. Three days prior to the accident, there was a report to maintenance that the left brake was pulling excessively. Section 4 of the airplane's operating manual, contained a caution note, which directed pilots to taxi with the minimum power needed for forward movement. It stated that excessive braking could result in overheated or damaged brakes, which could result in brake system malfunction or failure.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's excessive braking during taxi that resulted in the right brake overheating and a fire. A factor in the accident was the pilot's continued operation with known deficiencies.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/7/2005
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 2040
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Half Moon Bay
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 94019
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 373049N
Event Location Longitude 1223003W
Event Location Airport HALF MOON BAY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID HAF
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 66
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2013 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 45
Weather Observation Facility ID SFO
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 9
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Night
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 700
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 9
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 290
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.16
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) 22051
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Mar 7 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2125
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 14 2007 2:53PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-OAK-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N517SW
NTSB Number LAX05LA109
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cirrus Design Corp.
Aircraft Model SR22
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 0666
Certified Max Gross Weight 3400
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Feb 1 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 19
Airframe Hours 612
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Peninsula Aviation LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Burlingame
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 94010
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 --
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code HAF
Departure City Half Moon Bay
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 2040
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code PAO
Destination City Palo Alto
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - roll/run
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Jul 28 2007 1:21PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 12
Runway Length 5000
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --