What happened
On 6 December 2014, an Extra EA 300/200, registration G-TWOO, was conducting a private flight when it was involved in an accident at Wombleton Airfield, North Yorkshire. Following a standard approach and touchdown on Runway 28, the pilot attempted to use the brakes during the landing roll. While the right brake remained functional, the left brake failed to operate. This asymmetry caused the aircraft to enter a ground loop towards the right. During this maneuver, the left tyre maintained enough traction on the dry runway to cause the left main landing gear leg to fracture and collapse inwards. The incident resulted in no injuries to the two crew members on board, though the aircraft sustained damage to the left wing, aileron, wheel fairing, and the landing gear leg.
The investigation
Investigators examined the aircraft's braking system following its recovery. The maintenance organization responsible for the inspection found no active faults or anomalies within the braking system at the time of testing. However, the investigation identified a known characteristic in older Extra models where brake effectiveness decreases as pedal travel increases over several landings. This phenomenon occurs because the sealed brake hydraulic reservoir cap prevents the system from naturally compensating for slave cylinder clearance. While the maintenance provider suggested a procedure to bleed the system by removing the cap and exercising the brakes every 25 landings, testing on G-TWOO showed that the pedal travel was not excessive during the period in question.