Piper PA28 N8132X accident near Simsbury, Connecticut

Probable cause

Maintenance personnel's inadequate inspection of the wheel brake system during the airplane's most recent 100-hour inspection, which resulted in a loss of hydraulic fluid and the pilot's inability to control the airplane during the landing.

NTSB analysis

The commercial pilot was practicing approaches and touch-and-go landings. The pilot reported that, during taxi for takeoff, the wheel brakes were "sluggish"; when he was attempting a full-stop landing at the destination airport, the brakes "failed." The pilot steered the airplane off the runway to avoid a fence and collided with a ditch, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the left main landing gear separated from the airplane during the ground collision, and there was evidence of pre-existing hydraulic fluid leakage where the fluid line fitting connected to the wheel brake assembly. Additionally, the right main landing gear wheel brake assembly was not attached to the trunnion by the required AN bolts, and the hydraulic fluid line fitting was not attached to the brake assembly. According to the maintenance logbooks, a 100-hour inspection was completed 18 days before the accident. The logbook entry noted servicing of all tires, wheels, brakes, and brake fluid. Given that the right main landing gear hydraulic fluid line was detached from its respective brake assembly, it is likely that maintenance personnel did not adequately inspect the wheel brake system, and the right brake failed due to a loss of hydraulic fluid.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA19LA030 for the full record.