ERA22LA027 · Embraer EMB500

The pilot was landing the light jet with a right quartering tailwind. He stated that only the right brake activated when he applied the brakes during the landing roll. The airplane veered right so he released the brake pressure and used left rudder pressure to steer the airplane back toward the centerline. The airplane turned “aggressively” to the left, the right wing rose, and the pilot chose to continue into the grass rather than risk overcontrolling the airplane. The right wing impacted terrain, resulting in substantial damage, and the airplane came to rest upright perpendicular to the landing runway. One of the passengers stated that the airplane was “fishtailing” before it continued off the runway into the grass.

The airplane’s flight data recorder showed an increase in right brake pressure and right brake pedal position starting 8 seconds after touchdown, with no corresponding increase in left brake pressure or pedal position, consistent with application of right brake only. Upon application of the right brake, the airplane entered a series of lateral accelerations, yawing right and left, consistent with the “fishtailing” described by the passenger; then entered a left yaw that continued until the end of the recorded data. No warnings or brake fault indications were recorded, and the brake control unit operated nominally during postaccident testing. The pilot reported that he did not customarily apply brakes during the landing roll when adequate runway was available to let the airplane decelerate.

Based on the available information, it is likely that the pilot inadvertently applied right brake during the landing roll, which resulted in a loss of directional control and subsequent runway excursion.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset