Event ERA17LA264

Factual narrative

On July 29, 2017, about 0930 eastern daylight time, a Consolidated Aeronautics Lake LA-4-200, N747CB, was substantially damaged during taxi at the Orlando Executive Airport (ORL), Orlando, Florida. The pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot was taxiing the airplane to a hangar, when he lost control and the airplane rolled into a ditch, where it sustained substantial damage to its right wing. The pilot stated during a telephone interview that the airplane's left brake actuator failed. Following the accident, the airplane's brakes were not inspected by FAA inspectors due to the instability of the airplane on jacks, and because the wheels were covered in mud. The owner elected not to make the airplane available for subsequent inspections, and the condition and functionality of the airplane's brakes could not be assessed. The four-seat, low-wing amphibious airplane, was manufactured in 1976. It was powered by a Lycoming IO-360, 180-horsepower engine. According to the airplane's maintenance logbooks, the last annual inspection was completed on January 25, 2007. The recorded tach time was 253.6 hours and the airframe total time was 3311.2 hours. While the noncertificated pilot was taxiing the airplane to a hangar after a local flight, he lost directional control, and the airplane then rolled into a ditch, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported that the left brake actuator had failed.   A review of the airplane's maintenance logbooks revealed that the last annual inspection was completed more than 10 years before the accident. During postaccident examination of the airplane immediately after the accident, a Federal Aviation Administration inspector could not examine the brakes because of the instability of the airplane on the jacks and because the wheels were covered in mud. The owner did not make the airplane available for further examination; therefore, the reason for the loss of directional control could not be determined. 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).

• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - C
• C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Sloped/uneven terrain-Effect on operation - C
• — Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Experience/qualifications-Qualification/certification-Pilot