Incident Overview
On September 10, 2010, at approximately 1252 central daylight time, an Embraer 500 (Phenom 100) multiengine corporate jet, registration N226CP, received minor damage after a runway excursion during landing at Brenham Municipal Airport (11R), Brenham, Texas. The pilot and co-pilot were not injured. The aircraft was owned by Vader LLC, North Augusta, South Carolina, and operated by a private individual.
Flight Details
Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the incident, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The cross-country flight departed Tucson International Airport (TUS), Tucson, Arizona, about 0830 mountain standard time, destined for 11R.
Brake System Failure
Before departure, while the airplane was still on the ground at TUS, the crew alerting system (CAS) displayed a "BRK FAIL" message. The crew attempted to reset the message but were unsuccessful. They decided to continue the departure, and the CAS message remained active for the entire flight.
Sequence of Events
The pilot was flying the aircraft from the left seat for most of the flight and conducted a global positioning system (GPS) approach for a straight-in landing. Just before touchdown, the co-pilot took over control. After touchdown, the co-pilot discovered he had "no brakes" and pulled the emergency parking brake (EPB) handle, causing the airplane to skid. The co-pilot reported that the airplane continued to skid even after he pushed down and stowed the EPB handle.
The airplane was moving about 50 to 60 knots when both tires blew. While still skidding on the runway, the nose rotated about 120 degrees to the left, and the airplane exited the left side of the runway while moving sideways to the right. The right main landing gear collapsed after contacting the soft ground beside the runway. Both crewmembers then exited through the cabin door.
Post-Incident Examination
Data from the flight data recorder (FDR) showed that the CAS message for BRK FAIL appeared when the airplane was still on the ground at TUS, before the second engine had been started. The FDR data also indicated that after touchdown at 11R, both wheels were rotating after the EPB handle was stowed.
The brake control unit (BCU) was removed and subjected to destructive examination. A fault was found on the printed circuit board that led to an open circuit for a component installed on the board. The open circuit caused the failure of the BCU and the loss of normal braking. An examination of the remaining systems revealed no anomalies.
Crew Comments
The pilot reported that the incident could have been avoided if they had waited longer before using the emergency brake. The co-pilot reported that they should not have departed from TUS with the unresolved CAS message.