Accident Overview
On October 8, 2011, at approximately 1300 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-235 single-engine airplane, registration N9444W, sustained substantial damage when it impacted the visual approach slope indicator (VASI) equipment during landing at Weltzien Skypark Airport (15G), Wadsworth, Ohio. The commercial pilot and three passengers were not injured. The airplane was registered to a private individual and operated by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The flight had departed Parkersburg, West Virginia, around 1215.
Pilot's Account
According to the pilot, he and the passengers had departed 15G earlier that day to attend a breakfast in Parkersburg. Prior to both the flight to Parkersburg and the return flight to Wadsworth, no anomalies were noted with the airplane or its brake system. After touchdown at 15G, the pilot applied the brakes to slow the airplane and exit the runway, but "nothing happened." The airplane departed the runway surface, and the right wing contacted the VASI system. The airplane came to rest upright adjacent to the runway.
Postaccident Examination
Postaccident examination by Federal Aviation Administration inspectors and the airplane owner revealed that the left brake caliper was leaking fluid, and no fluid was present in the brake system reservoir. Fluid was added to the reservoir, and a leak was then noticed at the brake caliper without any brake pressure being applied to the system. The brake caliper and brake plates were removed. The brake plates were found to be worn beyond service limits, which resulted in an over extension of the brake piston and failure of the piston seal. The failure of the piston seal led to the loss of hydraulic fluid.
Maintenance Records
A review of the airframe logbooks showed that the most recent annual inspection was completed in March 2011. The brakes were replaced in 2008, and no additional logbook entries specified the brake system after that replacement. Since 2008, the airplane had completed approximately 55 landings, including 12 landings since the most recent annual inspection.