Gulf Shores, AL, USA
N432CD
CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR22
On June 15, 2022, about 1620 central daylight time, a Cirrus Design Corp. SR22, N432CD was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot, on April 7, 2022, he landed at Gulf Shores International Airport/Jack Edwards Field (JKA), Gulf Shores, Alabama. He felt that “the brakes were a little soft,” and asked a maintenance facility at JKA to look at them. The description of the work on the receipt that he received was “Trouble shoot brake problem - Bled brakes and ops check good.” When the pilot returned to pick up the airplane, he noticed as he was taxiing that it was taking more and more power to taxi, and he felt that the brakes were dragging. Additionally, he noted that brake fluid was leaking from an area inside of the wheel fairings, and the rudder pedals went to the floor when he activated the toe brakes. The airplane was subsequently towed to the maintenance facility, who replaced the piston O-rings, and the brake pads on both calipers. The pilot then operated the airplane on approximately 21 more flights, and on May 27, 2022, flew the airplane to JKA for an annual inspection to be performed by the maintenance facility. During the annual inspection, which was completed on June 14, 2022 (The day before the accident), the maintenance facility replaced the brake pads on both calipers, bleed the brake system, noting in the maintenance entry “Operational check good” and “No further defects noted.” On the day of the accident, the pilot returned to the maintenance facility to pick up the airplane. He performed a “walk around” of the airplane as part of his normal preflight inspection and conducted routine pre-takeoff checks before departing from runway 27. He initiated the takeoff and then realized that the brakes felt as if they were applied because the airplane was not accelerating as normal. He then aborted the takeoff, exited the runway, and brought the airplane to a stop. When the pilot attempted to taxi the airplane back to the maintenance facility, the airplane lost all braking and rolled to a stop just off the corner of the taxiway. The pilot then observed smoke coming from under the airplane. The pilot and passenger exited the airplane and the pilot noted that the right and then the left main landing gear were on fire. The pilot was unable to extinguish the fire using a fire extinguisher and two bottles of water. He then called 911 and moved away from the airplane. Examination of the airplane by the NTSB revealed that the left side of the fuselage and the left wing had been substantially damaged by the fire. The hydraulic fluid reservoir contained brake fluid. The parking brake was functional and was not engaged. The hydraulic plumbing in the cockpit also did not display any evidence of leakage, and all four master cylinders (one on each rudder pedal), and their associated plungers were intact. The right main landing gear wheel could be rotated by hand, and the brake caliper displayed surface discoloration on the top 1/3 of the caliper. The brake caliper and pads were thermally damaged, and the brake line fitting could be moved by hand. The left main landing gear wheel was fire separated from the rest of the landing gear assembly. The tire was fire damaged, along with the brake caliper which, displayed cracking. One of the two pistons was partially extended. The caliper was missing its fittings, and the brake pads were not present. The brake line swag fitting was present but took very little torque to remove. The remains of both wheel brake assemblies were retained for further examination.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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