Livermore Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Livermore, California 94550
Friday, June 19, 2009 16:10 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The mechanic/pilot performed engine maintenance on the experimental airplane and was taking the airplane out for a high-speed taxi and check flight. He said that during the takeoff roll the right brake did not feel as he expected it to, and he decided to abort the takeoff. As the airplane exited the runway and proceeded onto the taxiway, the pilot activated the right brake to straighten the airplane when the right brake failed. The airplane began to spin and came to rest on an adjacent grassy area where the right brake ignited a fire burning the grass and the airplane. By the time the fire department arrived, the airplane's engine section, firewall, and part of the fuselage had been fire damaged. A postaccident inspection by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the right brake caliper had been restricted by the wheel pant. This caused drag on the brake rotor allowing it to build up heat and eventually caused the fluid line to fail.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the right brake due to a restriction of the brake rotor that allowed the brake to overheat during the landing roll and subsequent failure of the brake fluid line.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/19/2009
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1610
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Livermore
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 94550
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 374136N
Event Location Longitude 1214913W
Event Location Airport Livermore Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LVK
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 400
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID LVK
Elevation of weather observation facility 400
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 900
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.72
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 28138
NTSB Notification Source FAA AWP Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record May 24 2011 10:24AM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N92VA
NTSB Number WPR09LA307
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 Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Gunnoe
Aircraft Model Velocity
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 001
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Marshall Holtsclaw
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Leslie
Aircraft Owner State MO
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 63056
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name David Dent
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Livermore
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 94550
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 LVK
Departure City Livermore
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1610
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code LVK
Destination City Livermore
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 28 2011 3:05PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 25R
Runway Length 5253
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --