Cirrus SR22, N6839R: Accident occurred October 21, 2012 in Pahokee, Florida

NTSB Identification: ERA13LA048 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, October 21, 2012 in Pahokee, FL
Probable Cause Approval Date: 03/07/2014
Aircraft: CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR22, registration: N6839R
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.

NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The pilot stated that, as he was taxiing the airplane, it felt as if the brakes were "not working properly" and "dragging." He chose to return to the ramp to have the airplane inspected. After parking the airplane and while he was shutting down the engine, a lineman approached and told the pilot that the airplane’s wheels were on fire. The pilot and passenger subsequently egressed the airplane without injury. Postaccident examinations revealed fire damage to the left and right main landing gear, both wings, and the underside of the fuselage but no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
A main landing gear wheel fire for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examinations did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operations. 

On October 21, 2012, about 1530 eastern daylight time, a Cirrus SR22, N6839R, registered to and operated by a private individual, was substantially damaged during a brake fire while taxiing at Palm Beach County Glades Airport (PHK), Pahokee, Florida. The private pilot and the passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight which was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight was originating at the time of the accident. 

According to the pilot, after refueling the airplane at PHK on a multi-leg flight from Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport, Indianapolis, Indiana (UMP) to Lantana Airport (LNA), Lantana, Florida, he began taxiing to the runway for departure. During the taxi, he felt that the brakes were "not working properly" and "dragging", so he elected to return to the ramp in order to have the airplane inspected. After parking the airplane, and while he was shutting down the engine, a lineman approached and advised the pilot of the fire. The pilot and passenger subsequently egressed without injury and the fire was extinguished. 

Initial examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that both the left and right landing gear were fire damaged, and that the underside of the fuselage and both wings were substantially damaged. Further examination, by a FAA inspector, did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions or anomlies that would have precluded normal operations. 

According to FAA records, the pilot held a private pilot certificate, with a rating for airplane single-engine land. The pilot reported 1,030 total hours of flight experience; of which, 600 of those hours were in the same make and model as the accident airplane. 

The four-seat, low-wing, tricycle-gear airplane, was manufactured in 2002. It was powered by one Continental Motors IO-550, 310-horsepower engine, equipped with a Hartzell controllable-pitch propeller. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on October 2, 2012. At that time the brake system was disassembled and inspected in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. According to the pilot, the brake system fluid and brake pads were changed. At the time of the accident, the airplane and the engine had accumulated 603 total hours of time in service. 

The 1553 recorded weather observation at Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), 35 miles east of the accident site included wind from 010 degrees at 9 knots, 10 miles visibility, few clouds at 5,000, temperature 28 degrees C, dew point 16 degree C, and a barometric altimeter setting of 29.95 inches of mercury.

NBL AIR LLC:  http://registry.faa.gov/N6839R


NTSB Identification: ERA13LA048
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, October 21, 2012 in Pahokee, FL
Aircraft: CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR22, registration: N6839R
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On October 21, 2012, about 1530 eastern daylight time, a Cirrus SR22, N6839R, was substantially damaged during a ground fire while taxiing at Palm Beach County Glades Airport (PHK), Pahokee, Florida. The certificated private pilot and the passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flights.

According to the pilot, after refueling the airplane at PHK on a multi-leg flight from Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport, Indianapolis, Indiana (UMP) to Lantana Airport (LNA), Lantana, Florida, he began taxiing to the runway for departure. During the taxi, he felt that the brakes were “not working properly” and “dragging”, so he elected to return to the ramp in order to have the airplane inspected. After parking the airplane, and while he was shutting down the engine, a lineman approached and advised the pilot of the fire. The pilot and passenger subsequently egressed without injury and the fire was extinguished.

The airplane’s most recent annual inspection was completed about 3 weeks prior to the accident, and at that time the brake system was disassembled and inspected in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. According to the pilot, the brake system fluid and brake pads were changed.

Initial examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that both the left and right landing gear were fire damaged, and that the underside of the fuselage and both wings were substantially damaged.

According to FAA records, the pilot held a private pilot certificate, with a rating for airplane single-engine land. The pilot had 1,100 total flight hours of which 605 of those hours were in the accident aircraft.