Incident Overview
On May 10, 2009, at approximately 1235 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 140 (registration N73017) experienced a ground loop following a landing at Mesquite Airport in Mesquite, Nevada. The accident occurred as the pilot was taxiing off the runway. The airplane, owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. Neither the commercial certificated pilot nor the passenger reported any injuries. The flight was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight, with visual meteorological conditions prevailing. No flight plan was filed. The flight had originated from Mesquite about 1155.
Pilot Report
According to the pilot's account to the National Transportation Safety Board investigator, after a normal landing, he sensed a "substantial vibration coming from the landing gear" during the landing roll. When the pilot exited the runway, the airplane "turned abruptly to the left." The pilot speculated that the left brake may have locked up. This uncommanded sharp left turn caused the airplane to leave the paved surface.
In a separate report to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) coordinator, the pilot stated that he attempted to regain directional control by applying right brake and rudder, but these actions were ineffective. As the airplane approached a concrete drainage culvert, the pilot applied full left rudder to avoid entering the culvert. While this maneuver prevented the airplane from going into the culvert, the empennage struck the concrete edge of the culvert, resulting in substantial airframe damage. Specifically, two airframe bulkheads and stringers were deformed, and the empennage was partially crushed. At the time of the incident, the wind was light and variable.
FAA Examination
The FAA coordinator inspected the runway and observed tire marks consistent with a locked or dragging brake on the left main landing gear wheel. An external examination of the left wheel and brake assembly revealed that the wheel could rotate freely, and no evidence of a brake cylinder failure was visible. However, the FAA noted that "there is a good possibility of an intermittent failure of a brake cylinder consistent with possible momentary contamination of the system."
Pilot Experience
The pilot reported a total flight time of 7,250 hours, with 150 hours in the accident aircraft model. The FAA coordinator expressed the opinion that the pilot had sufficient flying experience to avoid inadvertently applying improper brake pressure.