N50101

On May 2, 2024, about 1602 mountain daylight time, a Cessna T206H, N50101, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Halls Crossing, Utah. The pilot and student pilot sustained minor injuries. The aircraft was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot reported that before departing on a cross-country flight to Nokai Dome backcountry airstrip, he performed the preflight inspection and that a visual inspection of the brakes indicated no anomalies. He stated that during the pre-taxi brake check and their use during taxi, “the brakes worked perfectly.” After departure, he flew to his intended backcountry airstrip, set up an approach for runway 24 and noted a direct headwind.

The pilot asserted that the approach to landing was perfect, and the airplane touched down smoothly within the first few feet of the start of the unapproved landing surface. During the landing roll, the pilot applied brakes but noticed no braking action and “both the right and left brake failed.” The student pilot, who was seated in the right seat, applied the brakes with no resulting effect, and the pilot decided to abort the landing.

The pilot stated that with 10° flaps selected and the application of full throttle, the airplane began to climb, however, struck an approximate 8 ft tall tree and subsequently impacted terrain about 280 ft beyond the departure end of the airstrip.

Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that it substantial damage to the empennage and right wing.

Figure 1: View of airplane at the accident site. (Courtesy of pilot)