Final Flight: CitationJet brake lines failed

Cessna 525A CJ2, Tampa, Fla., Feb. 16, 2006–The NTSB said that the Zinc Acquisitions Citation’s swerving to the right on landing was caused by the failure of the left main and the auxiliary brake lines due to fatigue cracking, making directional control impossible. A contributing factor was the airport sign concrete pad, which the jet hit. After the accident, the FAA inspector found hydraulic fluid covering the left main landing gear, and the main and auxiliary left brake lines were fractured. The brake lines had not been removed or replaced since the jet was manufactured in 2002.

No one was injured, and damage to the airplane included the collapse of the nose gear. The right main landing gear tire was “shredded off the wheel.”