The Citation aircraft did not have an annunciator light to show that the parking brake is engaged, and the manufacturer’s before take-off checklist did not include a check to ensure the parking brake is disengaged.
ATSB recognises Textron's proposal to harmonize all checklists in relation to releasing the parking brake before take-off, if set. As the parking brake indication as not been addressed, ATSB intends to close the safety recommendation partially addressed. NTSB has issued three recommendations to FAA (A-22-008, A-22-009, A-22-010), which ATSB will monitor for any response by FAA and/or action by Textron Aviation.
Textron Aviation now has a formal team to address Continual Operational Safety (COS) issue with our fleet of aircraft. They will address any COS issues that comes in through the FAA safety recommendation system
The ATSB notes that Textron Aviation (Cessna) is willing to look at addressing safety recommendations so the ATSB is issuing the following safety recommendation.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau recommends that Textron Aviation (Cessna) takes safety action to address the fact that Citation aircraft do not have an annunciator light to show that the parking brake is engaged and the Cessna 'before take-off' checklist does not include a check to ensure the parking brake is disengaged.
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has investigated two similar accidents involving Cessna 560XL aircraft. The NTSB found that the parking brake pressure was not fully released before attempted take-offs, which prevented the aircraft rotating for take-off. This occurred beyond the point at which the aircraft could stop safely and in one of the accidents, this resulted in fatal injuries to all on board.
As a result, on 19 May 2022, the NTSB issued three Safety Recommendations to the US Federal Aviation Administration:
Issue an airworthiness directive for in-service Cessna 560XL airplanes to require that they meet the parking brake indication requirements of Amendment 25-107 of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 25 section 735.
Revise the type certification basis for Cessna 560XL airplanes and future derivative models to require that newly manufactured airplanes meet the parking brake indication requirements of Amendment 25-107 of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 25 section 735.
Require Textron Aviation to include a checklist item on the Cessna 560XL pretakeoff checklist for pilots to verify that the airplane’s parking brake is fully released before takeoff is initiated.
For further background information to the NTSB recommendations, please refer to the NTSB website (A-22-008 through -010 (ntsb.gov)).
The ATSB will monitor these recommendations and advise of any response by the FAA and/or action by Textron Aviation.
Textron disagrees that it is a safety issue: In summary, they assume that once the parking brake has been disengaged to taxi it remains disengaged. If the pilot applies the parking brake due to a length hold while taxiing, it is considered airmanship to remember to disengage it. Pilots are typically instructed as a matter of good practice to fully apply brake pressure when setting the parking brake - it will be obvious when they attempt to move the aircraft. AFMs from other manufacturers appear to concur with this general philosophy. The aircraft certification does not require annunciation of the parking brake. The number of similar incidents is very small relative to flight hours in 550 Bravo aircraft. Textron Aviation considers the issue to be airmanship related and has a very low rate of occurrence.
Your referenced Safety Recommendation (AO-2015-114-SR-002) was tracked in our database as Continual Operational Safety (COS) Report 1569. After submittal of our response to your Safety Recommendation, with concurrence from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), COS Issue 1569 was closed on February 21, 2018. No further action has been taken in association with COS Report 1569 or in response to the ATSB Safety Recommendation. Since closure of COS Report 1569, as you are aware, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued Safety Recommendation, AIR-22-06, to the FAA on June 1, 2022. Textron Aviation (TAI) provided a response to the FAA on September 1st, 2022, and are awaiting a response. The NTSB investigation into the accident involving aircraft 560-6026 that is currently ongoing (NTSB # ERA21FA346) and, consequently, its final accident report has not been released. TAI, as a NTSB party participant to that investigation, cannot comment or otherwise provide information regarding that pending and ongoing investigation. As part of our response to the NTSB safety recommendation, TAI volunteered to update all Airplane Flight Manuals and/or Pilot Checklists related to the Models listed on Type Certificate Data Sheet (TCDS) A22CE, to create textual harmonization across variants in relation to releasing the parking brake, if set, prior to takeoff. Please note that TCDS A22CE includes the Model 550.
