Incident Overview

Description
The Sabreliner was inactive since October 2007, due to extensive maintenance to repair corrosion. The pilot and co-pilot were assigned by the operator to move the airplane to its home base at Hernando County Airport (BKV), Brooksville, Florida. The maintenance facility released the Sabreliner to the pilots on February 1. The Sabreliner was located on the maintenance facility ramp in the northwest corner of Fort Lauderdale-Executive Airport. The pilot and copilot boarded the airplane, started the APU, and started both engines. About 15:40, the Sabreliner began to taxi out, and contacted the FXE ATCT ground controller to coordinate maneuvering around a Cessna Caravan that was headed in the opposite direction on the same ramp. The ground controller replied “…don’t have you in sight if you guys are in the foxtrot one ramp that is uncontrolled.” The accident crew responded that they were aware of that, but that they wanted to “get out of the way” of the Caravan. Ground control then asked for the accident crew’s intentions, and at 15:42:04, the accident crew replied “taxi out for departure and I’ll get the clearance as soon as I get clear of the Caravan.” At 15:42:50 the Caravan pilot broadcast “mayday mayday mayday watch out watch out watch out.” According to the pilot of the Caravan, he had deplaned his passengers and was taxiing his airplane to its parking location. Since the Sabreliner was blocking his intended path, the Caravan pilot stopped to let the Sabreliner pass. He then saw the Sabreliner coming towards him, and the left wing of the Sabreliner struck the Caravan’s propeller. The Sabreliner continued moving at a speed that the Caravan pilot estimated to be 10 knots, and the right wing of the Sabreliner struck a DH-125 that was under tow by a tug. The Sabreliner continued to move forward until it struck another, stationary Sabreliner (N430MP). The Caravan pilot estimated that the accident Sabreliner had traveled 20 to 30 yards beyond the Caravan before it finally stopped. The Sabreliner suffered damage to the left hand wing tip, no. 1 engine and right hand wing. PROBABLE CAUSE: “The depletion of pressure in the normal hydraulic system for an undetermined reason, and the pilots’ failure to properly operate the emergency braking system. Contributing to the accident was an inoperative hydraulic system aural warning.”
Primary Cause
Failure to properly operate the emergency braking system, likely due to a depletion of hydraulic pressure within the aircraft’s system, combined with pilots’ inadequate use of the emergency braking system. The inoperative hydraulic system and lack of proper emergency braking system operation contributed significantly to the accident.Failure to properly operate the emergency braking system, likely due to a depletion of hydraulic pressure within the aircraft’s system, combined with pilots’ inadequate use of the emergency braking system. The inoperative hydraulic system and lack of proper emergency braking system operation contributed significantly to the accident.Share on: