Accident Details
On July 29, 2017, at approximately 0930 eastern daylight time, a Consolidated Aeronautics Lake LA-4-200, registration N747CB, sustained substantial damage during taxi operations at Orlando Executive Airport (ORL) in Orlando, Florida. The pilot was uninjured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot lost control while taxiing the airplane to a hangar. The aircraft rolled into a ditch, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. During a telephone interview, the pilot stated that the airplane's left brake actuator had failed.
Aircraft Information
The four-seat, low-wing amphibious airplane was manufactured in 1976. It was powered by a Lycoming IO-360 engine producing 180 horsepower. According to the airplane's maintenance logbooks, the last annual inspection was completed on January 25, 2007. At the time of the accident, the recorded tachometer time was 253.6 hours, and the airframe total time was 3,311.2 hours.
Post-Accident Examination
Following the accident, FAA inspectors were unable to inspect the airplane's brakes due to the instability of the aircraft on jacks and because the wheels were covered in mud. The owner elected not to make the airplane available for subsequent inspections. Consequently, the condition and functionality of the airplane's brakes could not be assessed.