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Atlas / NTSB / CEN25LA293

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event CEN25LA293

2025-07-26 Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Airport · ATW None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N401VA

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

PIPER PA-31T3

Year of manufacture

1982 · 43 years old at event

Engine

P&W CANADA PT6A-60A (1050 hp)

Seats / Engines

11 seats · 2 engines

Last airworthiness date

19820603

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A4B234

Registrant of record

PRO AIRE CARGO & CONSULTING INC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane on the ground, which resulted in a collision with a parked airplane.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that during engine start up, he applied the brakes to the cargo airplane and remained stationary while he received a taxi clearance. As he released the brakes to begin taxiing, the brake pedals went to the floor with no braking action. He pumped the brakes several times with no effect, so he feathered both propellers and shut down the engines. The airplane continued to roll and collided with a parked airplane on the ramp. Postaccident examination revealed that the airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. A functional check revealed that the brake system was operational with no malfunctions noted. The left main landing gear brake pads were worn beyond allowable limits. The examination did not reveal any other anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. While the left brake pads were worn beyond allowable limits, the main landing gear braking action would have still been available to the pilot. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Brake-Damaged/degraded
  • Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Brake-Inadequate inspection
  • Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained
  • Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2025_CEN25LA293.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.