MIA94IA217
1994-09-26 · FT. LAUDERDALE, Florida, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport FLL
N63PB has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (JUST AIRCRAFT LLC HIGHLANDER, built 2013), which was not involved in this event.
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The first officer's failure to maintain directional control on landing roll out due to improper use of brakes, resulting in the airplane veering off the runway, and subsequent on-ground collision with a runway light and sign. Contributing to the incident was the failure of the return spring in the right master brake cylinder, and the failure of the first officer to relinquish the flight controls when requested by the pilot-in- command.
Factual narrative
On September 26, 1994, about 1030 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 402C, N63PB, operated by Airways International, as a 14 CFR Part 135 scheduled domestic/international passenger flight, veered to the left on landing rollout at the Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International, and collided with a runway light and sign about 200 feet before the end of the runway. The airplane sustained minor damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight plan was filed. The airline transport-rated first officer, airline transport-rated check airman, and five passengers were not injured. The flight originated from Freeport, Bahamas, about 50 minutes before the incident. The check airman stated the first officer landed the airplane slightly left of centerline on runway 9 right. He noticed they would not be able to exit the runway at the D-4 taxiway, and instructed the first officer to slow the airplane down. The first officer informed him that the brakes were not working properly. He informed the first officer to extend his landing rollout to the next turn off. The airplane rolled past the D-4 taxiway, and started to drift to the left side of the runway. He informed the first officer two times, "I have the aircraft controls, and tried to utilize my right brake to keep the airplane on the runway. Both of my brakes seemed inoperative, which was a result of Cpt. Schauder having his feet on the brakes and my having only a mechanical linkage to his brakes, it made mine inoperative....With my brakes inoperative the aircraft continued off the runway." The first officer stated he relinquished the controls as requested, and did not continue to pump the brakes. Examination of the brake system by the chief maintenance inspector for Airways International Inc., revealed the return spring in the right master cylinder was broken, and the lock-o- seal was leaking, causing the master cylinder to leak or experience a loss in effective braking. In addition, the pilot applying brakes from the left side has full control. The right side brakes can not override the left side brakes if the left side brakes are applied. The Director of Operations for Airways International Inc., stated in a letter to the NTSB dated October 11, 1994, that the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report submitted to the NTSB listed the first officer as the pilot-in-command. This information was entered in error due to misinterpretation of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 135.244, and he requested that the report be corrected to show the check airman as the pilot-in-command. THE FIRST OFFICER FLYING FROM THE LEFT SEAT LANDED SLIGHTLY LEFT OF CENTERLINE ON THE RUNWAY. THE CHECK AIRMAN NOTICED THEY WOULD BE UNABLE TO TURN OFF AT THE DESIGNATED TAXIWAY, AND INSTRUCTED THE FIRST OFFICER TO SLOW DOWN AND CONTINUE THE ROLL OUT TO THE NEXT TAXIWAY. THE FIRST OFFICER STATED HIS BRAKES WERE NOT OPERATING PROPERLY, AND THE AIRPLANE STARTED TO DRIFT TO THE LEFT. THE CHECK AIRMAN STATED, 'I HAVE THE CONTROLS,' BUT WAS UNABLE TO UTILIZE HIS BRAKES DUE TO THE FIRST OFFICER APPLYING BRAKES OVERRIDING THE CHECK AIRMAN'S BRAKES. THE AIRLANE DEPARTED THE RUNWAY 200 FEET FROM THE END OF THE RUNWAY, AND COLLIDED WITH A TAXIWAY LIGHT AND SIGN. EXAMINATION OF THE BRAKE SYSTEM BY THE CHIEF MAINTENANCE INSPECTOR FOR THE AIRLINE, REVEALED THE RETURN SPRING IN THE RIGHT MASTER CYLINDER WAS BROKEN, AND THE LOCK-O-SEAL WAS LEAKING. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1994_MIA94IA217.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Search this event elsewhere
External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.
- TallyAero Live Wire Aviation press
- NTSB CAROL Agency ↗
- NTSB Docket Agency ↗
- Aviation Safety Network Aviation press ↗
- Kathryn's Report Aviation press ↗
- Aviation Herald Aviation press ↗
- AVweb Aviation press ↗
- Pilots of America Community ↗
- Reddit /r/flying Community ↗
- FlightAware Aviation press ↗
- AOPA accident database Aviation press ↗
- Google News News ↗
- DuckDuckGo News ↗
Related research
Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (maintenance). All research papers
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2026 · Journal article (IJAAA) From Reactive to Predictive: A hybrid Trust-Mediated Adoption Framework for Data-Driven Maintenance in Distributed-Authority Aviation Environments
Modern aviation maintenance operates within increasingly data-intensive technological environments, yet the operational integration of predictive maintenance into routine decision-making remains incon…
- Semantic Scholar 2026 · Article (Reliability Engineering & System Safety) Understanding human error in military aviation maintenance: The role of Performance shaping factors, cognitive workload and error orientation
- Semantic Scholar 2025 · Article (Applied Sciences) Decision-Making Framework for Aviation Safety in Predictive Maintenance Strategies
The implementation of predictive maintenance (PM) in aviation presents unique challenges due to strict safety requirements, complex operational environments, and regulatory constraints.
- Semantic Scholar 2024 · Article (Defence Science Journal) Modelling of Human Factors in Aviation Maintenance Using HFACS ME Human Factors Analysis and Classification System Maintenance Extension and Bayesian Network
Aircraft maintenance is a complex task involving a skilled human workforce, spare parts, and various other resources. Human factors are an inherent element of the human workforce.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (JAAER) A New Trajectory in UAV Safety: Leveraging Reinforcement Learning for Distance Maintenance Under Wind Variations
In the field of aviation, safety is a critical cornerstone, and the operation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems is deeply connected with this principle.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (JAAER) Low-Resource Automatic Speech Recognition Domain Adaptation – A Case-Study in Aviation Maintenance
With timeliness and efficiency being critical in the aviation maintenance industry, the need has been growing for smart technological solutions that optimize and streamline the different underlying ta…