Feds Issue Final Report on Patty Wagstaff Runway Accident

Photo courtesy of the NTSB

It's not the kind of loop that Patty Wagstaff planned, but the NTSB has determined that the cause of her runway accident in her V-Tail Bonanza in 2019 was due to "excessive play" in some of the brake parts.

Wagstaff and her passenger, an instructor at her flight school, received minor injuries as a result of the accident.

According to the NTSB, the accident that occurred at the St Augustine airport resulted after the right brake of her Bonanza locked up upon touchdown. Despite Wagstaff's effort to keep the aircraft heading down the runway on rollout, it unfortunately veered off and struck a berm, resulting in the aircraft flipping over.

The NTSB further stated that after examining the brakes and wheels in detail, they found excessive play between the anchor bolts and bushings in the torque plate. The report asserted "Excessive caliper play can result in too much clearance between the brake pads and the brake disc!The excessive clearance can cause the brake pads to shift out of place and jam against the brake disc, which could result in an unintended brake application."

Sam WinerAuthor

Sam has his commercial fixed wing and rotorcraft rating, with just under 1,000 hours of total time. He owned a helicopter flight school in the Chicago area for over 11 years and worked as a pilot for radio traffic reporting services in the Chicago market. In addition, Sam has worked in the fast-paced radio news environment as a news anchor and traffic reporter in the Chicago, Milwaukee and Salt Lake City markets. His informative and humorous writing style, coupled with decades of experience in the aviation world, will provide easy reading with timely topics for the beginning aviator all the way up to the ATP professional.

Feds Issue Final Report on Patty Wagstaff Runway Mishap

The legendary aerobatics pilot knew what it was. The NTSB just concurred.

Sam Winer

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