Cessna 340 N47BP accident near St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida

Probable cause

The pilot’s inability to stop the airplane on the available runway, which resulted in a runway excursion and collision with an airport perimeter fence.

NTSB analysis

The pilot said that before he departed, he tested the airplane’s brakes and they functioned normally. He then departed, made one circuit in the traffic pattern, and landed about 500 to 1,000 ft beyond the first intersection located at the approach end of the 9,730-ft-long runway. The pilot said the brakes were not working during the landing roll-out and he was unable to stop or slow on the remaining runway. The pilot veered the airplane off the left side of the runway, traveled another 1,800 ft and impacted the airport’s perimeter fence resulting in substantial damage to the airplane’s fuselage.

A postaccident examination of the airplane’s brakes revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation at the time of the accident.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA22LA250 for the full record.