What happened
On the evening of 7 October 1999, a Piper PA23-250, registration ZS-JTZ, was conducting a night training flight at Grand Central Airport. The flight was intended for student familiarization as part of a multi-engine conversion program. During the landing phase on runway 35, the aircraft touched down at an indicated airspeed of 95 mph. At the time, the weather conditions featured a temperature of 24°C and winds from 070 degrees at 15 knots, with gusts reaching 28 knots.
As the aircraft proceeded down the downhill slope of the runway, the instructor realized the plane was failing to decelerate sufficiently to stop before the runway terminus. In an attempt to manage the landing, the instructor directed the student to increase braking pressure, noting that the co-pilot side lacked toe brakes. However, the aircraft began to veer, and the instructor subsequently executed a deliberate ground loop by shutting down the engines and applying left rudder to steer the aircraft off the runway surface.
As a result of this maneuver, the aircraft exited the runway onto the grass and crossed an embankment. The excursion resulted in damage to the nose section and both the left and right wings. There were no fatalities and no injuries reported among the two occupants.
The investigation
Investigators examined the mechanical and operational aspects of the landing. The inquiry established that the student was applying pressure to the left brake to maintain directional control because the right brake was not functioning correctly. This mechanical issue and the student's failure to communicate the braking malfunction to the instructor were key elements of the event. The investigation also looked into the impact of the runway gradient and wind conditions on the aircraft's stopping distance.