N925DR

On October 22, 2021, at 1750 eastern daylight time, an Embraer EMB-500 airplane, N925DR, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident in Orlando, Florida. The airline transport pilot and four passengers were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot reported that he completed a stable RNAV/GPS approach to a landing on runway 36L at Orlando International Airport (MCO). He had lowered a wing and was using the rudder to compensate for the crosswind. After touchdown, he applied brakes, but “only the right brake activated,” and the airplane’s nose went to the right. He then released the brakes and stated that he “may still have had a little left rudder in from the crosswind landing.” The airplane “came aggressively” back to its left, and the right wing began to lift. The pilot then decided to complete the landing roll into the grass rather than risk over-controlling the airplane by trying to remain on the runway.

The pilot stated that he asked for a “wind check” before landing and was told the wind was from 120° at 14 knots (kts). He said that the airplane landed on the runway centerline, after which he applied the brakes. He added, “[The airplane] Pulled to the right. Released brakes. Stepped on left rudder to come back towards centerline. Over corrected.” The pilot stated that, as he tried to steer the airplane toward the runway centerline, the wing was “lifted by wind.” He “eased up on the controls” and the airplane departed the left side of the runway.

The pilot further reported that he did not customarily apply brakes after touchdown, and if there was adequate runway available, he would “let the airplane roll out” and add brakes after it had slowed. He stated that, during the accident landing, he “got on the brakes pretty soon, and I don’t know why I did that.”

One passenger described the airplane “rocking back and forth aggressively” after landing. Another passenger stated that it felt like the airplane was “fishtailing” before it departed the runway surface.

After departing the runway, the airplane impacted a sign, dragged the right wing, and ultimately came to rest upright facing perpendicular to the landing runway, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing.

The pilot reported having 26,000 total hours of flight experience, of which 80 hours were in the accident airplane make and model.

Examination of the airplane’s maintenance records revealed that its most recent continuous airworthiness program inspection was completed October 17, 2021, at 1,767.3 total aircraft hours.

The airplane’s combination cockpit voice recorder/flight data recorder and components and modules of the braking system were retained for further examination. Data downloaded from the flight recorder revealed the airplane touched down at 87 kts airspeed. Lateral acceleration deviations were recorded shortly after touchdown, before any displacement of the brake pedals occurred. As the airplane slowed, about 8 seconds after touchdown, right brake pressure increased, with corresponding changes to the right brake pedal position. Lateral accelerations to the right and left were recorded beginning about the time of the right brake input, before the airplane yawed left and continued to yaw left until the end of the data. No warnings or cautions were recorded.

The manufacturer’s Functional Test Instructions were followed when testing the brake control unit (BCU), and that the BCU passed all tests. Download of the BCU’s non-volatile memory revealed there was “no unusual braking behavior or issues with the BCU at the time of the incident.”

The recorded wind at 2153 (about 3 minutes after the accident) was from 090° at 12 kts, gusting to 16 kts, which would have resulted in a 90° crosswind for the landing runway. The 120°, 14-kt wind reported to the pilot just before the accident would have resulted in a right quartering tailwind, with a tailwind component of about 7 kts and a crosswind component of about 12 kts. The airplane’s maximum demonstrated crosswind component was 17 kts (this value is not considered to be limiting), and its maximum allowed takeoff and landing tailwind component was 10 kts.