Cessna 120 N2496N accident near Beaumont, Kansas

Probable cause

The right brake being locked during the landing roll on the turf runway for reasons that could not be determined during postaccident examinations, which resulted in a noseover.

NTSB analysis

The private pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight. He reported that, upon landing the airplane on a turf runway, the airplane began to pull right. He applied left rudder to try to keep the airplane going straight. As the airplane continued to pull right, the pilot applied full left rudder and full aft elevator and tried applying the left brake. The empennage rose up, so he stopped using the left brake and just used the left rudder. Subsequently, the airplane nosed over, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane. The pilot stated that the right brake was locked during the landing. The brake was subsequently unlocked to facilitate moving the airplane from the runway.

An examination of the turf runway revealed surface witness marks consistent with a locked right brake. However, during examination of the airplane, no anomalies were found that would have caused the right brake to lock; therefore, the reason the right brake was locked upon landing could not be determined. Given the available evidence, the airplane likely nosed over during the landing roll as the pilot attempted to compensate for the locked right brake.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN19LA046 for the full record.