Embraer 500 incident near Brenham, Texas, September 10, 2010
On September 10, 2010 at about 5:52 pm local time, a Embraer 500, registered N226CP, suffered minor damage in an incident during prior to flight near Brenham, Texas (Brenham Municipal Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilots’ decision to depart with a known failed brake control unit.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 10, 2010 · about 5:52 pm local time
- Place
- Brenham, Texas · Brenham Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Embraer 500 Phenom 100
- Registration
- N226CP · registry record · serial 50000071
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The crewmembers reported that they were still on the ground and noticed a crew alerting system (CAS) message indicating a brake failure. They decided to continue their departure, and the CAS message stayed active for the entire flight. After touchdown, the co-pilot was flying the airplane when he discovered that the brakes did not work, and the airplane began skidding when he pulled the emergency parking brake handle. The airplane was moving about 50 to 60 knots when both tires blew. While the airplane was still skidding on the runway, the nose rotated about 120 degrees to the left and the airplane exited the left side of the runway while moving sideways to the right. The right main landing gear collapsed after contacting the soft ground on the side of the runway. A postaccident examination of the brake control unit (BCU) revealed a fault on the printed circuit board that led to an open circuit for a component installed on the board. The open circuit caused the failure of the BCU and the loss of normal braking. An examination of the remaining systems revealed no anomalies.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power) during prior to flight defining event
- Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power) during takeoff
- Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power) during landing
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll)
- Runway excursion during landing (landing roll)
- Landing gear collapse during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Flight crew
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Landing gear brakes system › Failure
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,627 hours in all; 54 in this make and model; 44 in the last 90 days; 16 in the last 30 days; 1,408 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Last flight review: October 30, 2009
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 7,026 hours in all; 40 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 13 in the last 30 days; 3,206 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Last flight review: October 30, 2009
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 37 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 10,472 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Pwc PW617F-E (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Pwc PW617F-E (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TUS Tucson AZ at 3:30 pm
- Destination: 11R Brenham TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 16, 6,003 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.89 inHg
- Observation at 5:45 pm from 11R
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CEN10IA535.