Piper PA-28-181 N8227L accident near New Century, Kansas

Probable cause

The pilot’s application of excessive brake pressure to maintain a safe taxi speed during a long, slightly downhill taxi with a strong quartering tailwind, which resulted in a brake fire.

NTSB analysis

The private pilot reported that he accomplished a brake test before taxiing for takeoff for a personal flight and that the brakes checked normally. He taxied about 1.85 miles from the ramp to runway 36 via taxiway A, which ran parallel to runway 36. The airport diagram indicated that the elevation at the departure end of runway 36 was 1,085 ft and that the elevation at the approach end of runway 36 was 1,051 ft; the loss of 34 ft of elevation resulted in a runway gradient of about -0.5 percent. A right quartering tailwind existed during the taxi operation. The pilot reported that the brakes felt "mushy" as he turned the airplane into the wind and stopped at the run-up area at the approach end of runway 36. He smelled something burning and requested a taxi clearance back to the ramp. During the taxi back, an air traffic controller informed the pilot that the there was a fire on the right side of the airplane.

The examination of the airplane revealed that the right main landing gear (MLG) exhibited signs of thermal damage and that the right wheel pant was consumed by fire. The flap and wing areas near the landing gear were also consumed by fire. The left MLG exhibited signs of thermal damage but had not caught on fire. The O-ring around the piston had melted, and hydraulic fluid was found leaking around the left brake caliper. It is likely that the pilot applied excessive brake pressure during the long, slightly downhill taxi with a strong quartering tailwind. The pilot's application of excessive brake pressure to maintain a safe taxi speed resulted in the brakes getting hot enough to initiate a brake fire.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN16LA023 for the full record.