What happened
A student pilot with 35 hours of flight experience was performing a landing on a 4,800-foot runway under conditions involving forming fog. The pilot reported winds from 030 degrees at 15 knots. While the pilot was aware that the approach was a downwind landing, he noted that attempting to circle the airport for a landing on runway 3 would have risked losing visual contact with the airport due to the fog.
The pilot touched down midfield on the runway. As the aircraft approached the departure end of the runway during the landing roll, the pilot applied pressure to the wheel brakes using the brake lever. During this application, the brake control cable snapped, resulting in a total loss of braking action. Consequently, the 1961 Colt overran the departure end of the runway, and the nose wheel impacted a ridge/terrace located in a wheat field adjacent to the airport. The aircraft sustained damage, but there were no injuries reported.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the failure of the brake control cable assembly (part number 40123-91). This component was identified as a condition item within the manufacturer's illustrated parts catalog, meaning it does not have a specific replacement or retirement time. Investigators determined that the cable separated at the point where it makes a sharp turn over a pulley (part number 11200-00). The aircraft had accumulated a total of 1,715 airframe hours.