N45CW

On July 10, 1997, at 0715 central daylight time, a Beech 55, N45CW, veered off the right side of runway 18, collided with runway lights and signs, and collapsed the nose gear during a full stop landing at the Murfreesboro Municipal Airport in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The business flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with an instrument flight clearance. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The commercial rated pilot and her passenger were not injured. The flight departed Arlington, Tennessee, at 0600.

According to the pilot, the approach profile appeared to have been normal to touchdown. After touchdown, and while applying brakes on the landing roll, the left brake pedal collapsed, and the airplane started drifting to the right of the runway centerline. The pilot applied right engine throttle to correct for the right drift condition. The airplane rolled off the right side of the 3800 foot long runway approximately 3800 feet down the runway.

A review of the aircraft maintenance logs revealed that an annual inspection had been completed on the airplane about 55 hours before the accident. The maintenance logs stated that the airplane brakes were serviced during the last annual inspection. An examination of the left brake assembly at the accident site revealed that there was no brake fluid in the left reservoir. The left brake assembly functioned normally during subsequent testing. There were no obvious signs of fluid leakage on the brake or reservoir assemblies.