St. Johns Industrial Air Park Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

St. Johns, Arizona 85936
Tuesady, March 13, 2012 9:50 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot had recently purchased the airplane and was receiving instruction in it. The pilot reported that the day before the accident, during landing, the left brake became less responsive than the right, and the airplane veered off of the runway but incurred no damage. The pilot and his flight instructor then bled the brake lines. This was followed by taxi and touch-and-go landing checks with no anomalies noted. The following morning the brakes were tested again and were operational. During the fourth landing that morning, the right brake locked up, and the airplane swerved to the right and nosed over. Although the flight instructor indicated that he had signed off the pilot for his tailwheel endorsement the day of the accident, he did not hold a current airman medical certificate. Additionally, the instructor reported that he did not remain on the flight controls with the pilot during the landings. Postaccident examination of the brake system revealed no evidence of a mechanical malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilots’ failure to maintain directional control when the right brake locked up during the landing roll for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/13/2012
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 950
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City St. Johns
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85936
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 343106N
Event Location Longitude 1092243W
Event Location Airport St. Johns Industrial Air Park
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SJN
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 5737
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 954 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID SJN
Elevation of weather observation facility 5737
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
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) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -13
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) 30.13
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 30773
NTSB Notification Source Western Pacific ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 25 2013 10:16AM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N712AZ
NTSB Number WPR12LA135
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cook
Aircraft Model Smith AVN Replica SU
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 04076
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 1 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 19
Airframe Hours 125
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91
Aircraft Owner Name Freedom Group, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Reno
Aircraft Owner State NV
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 89502
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Clayton McMartin
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Argyle
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 76226
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) Ferry
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code SJN
Departure City St. Johns
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 940
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code SJN
Destination City St. Johns
Destination State AZ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 28 2012 6:17PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 14
Runway Length 5322
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --