SEA95LA156

Factual narrative

On July 19, 1995, approximately 2100 MDT, a Fairchild 24G, N16899, received substantial damage in a loss of directional control following a brake malfunction on landing roll at the pilot's private airstrip 3 miles north of Nyssa, OR. The commercial pilot, a co-owner and the sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. The 14 CFR 91 flight had originated at Ontario, OR. Visual meterological conditions existed and no flight plan had been filed. The pilot indicated in his accident report that his airstrip is a north-south grass-surface runway 1,850 feet long, 60 feet wide, and 2,190 feet above sea level. Winds at Ontario (5 miles north of the accident site) at the time were reported from 270 degrees magnetic at 11 knots. The pilot described the accident in his report as follows: "Landing to the north. Moments after landing right brake was applied to get direction[al] control. The right brake did not release and aircraft ground-looped, crumpling left landing gear and the left wing." Based on the time filed on the pilot's accident report, the accident occurred approximately 20 minutes before local sunset. The airplane, manufactured in 1937, has tailwheel landing gear and employs a cable-actuated mechanical drum brake system. The owner indicated a mechanical malfunction of the brake on page 4 of his accident report, stating: "The cable thr[ough] the tubing in [the] wheel strut froze up and would not release brake when applied". His report indicated that the airplane's last annual inspection was on May 26, 1995, and that the airplane had operated 7.1 hours since the annual inspection. The total time on the airframe was listed in the report as 2,542.3 hours. The pilot reported that his last Biennial Flight Review (BFR) was on April 18, 1985, over ten years before the accident. This BFR was conducted in a Fairchild 24G. THE PILOT LANDED WITH APPROXIMATELY 11 KNOTS OF LEFT CROSSWIND COMPONENT. ON LANDING ROLL, THE PILOT APPLIED RIGHT BRAKE PRESSURE TO CORRECT AIRCRAFT MOTION TO THE LEFT. THE CABLE WHICH ACTUATED THE MECHANICAL WHEEL BRAKE BOUND IN ITS TUBING, PREVENTING THE BRAKE FROM RELEASING AND CAUSING THE AIRPLANE TO CONTINUE TURNING RIGHT WHEN RIGHT BRAKE PEDAL PRESSURE WAS RELEASED. THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL WITH THE BRAKE MALFUNCTION AND THE AIRCRAFT GROUND-LOOPED TO THE RIGHT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12