Accident Summary
On November 7, 2013, at approximately 1245 mountain standard time, a Piper PA-46-350P airplane, registration N60TM, sustained substantial damage during landing at Sky Ranch at Carefree (18AZ) in Carefree, Arizona. The nose landing gear collapsed during the landing roll. The airplane was owned by Thermo Dynamics Inc. of Laughlin, Nevada, and was operated by the pilot under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an instrument flight rules (IFR) personal cross-country flight. The commercial pilot and sole passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the destination airport, and an instrument flight plan had been filed and opened. The flight originated from Eagle, Colorado, at approximately 1025.
Aircraft and Personnel
The aircraft was a Piper PA-46-350P, a single-engine pressurised airplane. The pilot, a commercial pilot, was the sole occupant of the cockpit along with one passenger. According to the pilot, the airplane had recently undergone an annual inspection three days prior to the accident, and the brake master cylinders had been rebuilt during that inspection.
Incident Sequence
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge on November 18, the pilot reported that during the landing roll, he applied the brakes and the left pedal went to the floor. He attempted to control the airplane using the right brake and left rudder. As the airplane slowed, the rudder became ineffective, and the airplane departed the right side of the runway. The airplane struck a berm, causing the nose landing gear to collapse. The engine firewall sustained substantial damage. The pilot stated there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
Examination Findings
A subsequent examination of the left brake system, overseen by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air safety inspector, revealed that the left brake master cylinder seal had failed, rendering the left brake inoperative. According to an airplane maintenance logbook entry, the master brake cylinder had been rebuilt approximately 40 service hours prior to the failure.