What happened
On 3 June 2022, a Cessna T206H aircraft, registered 2-ELLY, departed from Hoedspruit Civil Aerodrome in Limpopo for a private flight to Ximuwu Private Airstrip in Mpumalanga. The flight was conducted under visual meteorological conditions in accordance with Part 91 regulations.
As the aircraft approached Ximuwu, the pilot performed pre-landing checks, including testing the footbrakes, and found the braking system to be functioning normally. The pilot joined the traffic pattern for a full-stop landing on Runway 09. However, after touching down at a ground speed of approximately 70 knots, the pilot applied the brakes and found they were non-responsive. This failure to decelerate caused the aircraft to overshoot the runway threshold, eventually coming to a halt after striking a large shrub on the eastern side of the airstrip. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the propeller and the right wing. There were 0 fatalities and 0 injuries to the two occupants on board.
The investigation
The investigation examined the mechanical state of the aircraft and the flight parameters. Maintenance records indicated that the aircraft had undergone a 50-hour oil inspection and a Certificate of Release to Service in March 2022, during which the three wheel assemblies had been replaced.
Upon recovering the aircraft to its hangar, engineers inspected the braking system. They discovered that the brake line/pipe connecting the cylinder to the right-side brake caliper had snapped, while the left-side line remained intact. While the aircraft's manual provides instructions on how to manage a single-brake failure using opposite rudder, the investigation focused on the sequence leading to the overshoot. Although the aircraft landed deep on the runway, the investigation could not definitively determine why the initial braking attempt failed, though it noted that the damage to the brake line was a result of the overshoot itself.