Narrative:The left propeller of the plane had recently been worked on, so a post-maintenance test flight was made. The flight departed McAllen at 13:54. During flight, the crew shut down the left engine, and then restarted the engine. When the engine restarted, the propeller was not operating properly, so the crew elected to shut the engine off once more. The crew proceeded to make an ILS single-engine approach to runway 13 and descended from the prevailing cloud layer at approximately 700 feet agl and a half-mile from the runway. Just prior to landing, the pilot stated that he asked the first officer to put in additional flaps. When the first officer attempted to lower the flaps down, they did not move. The pilot reported that this was the point when they noticed that the alternator light was illuminated and the hydraulic pressure gauge indicated "0". The landing gear were already extended and the flaps were partially extended, so the crew proceeded to land the airplane. Upon landing the brakes were ineffective. As a result, the airplane veered to the right and exited the runway. The airplane collided with the airport perimeter fence, continued down into a ditch, and came back up until it impacted a hill straight ahead.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The failure to activate the hydraulic pump which resulted in the pilot's inability to maintain directional control."
Accident investigation:
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Investigating agency: | NTSB |
Status: | Investigation completed |
Duration: | 116 days (4 months) | Accident number: | DFW05LA029 | Download report: | Summary report
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Classification:
Runway excursion
Sources:
» FAA
» NTSB
» The Brownsville Herald
Photos
accident date:
04-12-2004type: Convair CV-580F (SCD)
registration: N161FL
Map
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.