Parking Brake on the Runway

[ahramin]

Someone told me the other day that you never use the parking brake on an active runway. Anyone else heard of that?

[Simpleton]

Lol, why would you ever?

[crazyaviator]

Yes, I think I have vaguely heard of that before, something to do with extending the take-off roll a few thousand feet

[cgzro]

Except if you are flying a Chipmunk or Tiger Moth where the parking brake is your brake lever and provides differential braking with rudder in addition to being a parking brake ;)

Otherwise no .. bad idea.

[altiplano]

Why is it a bad idea?

It's not forbidden in my AOM or FOM or by government regulation.

[Just another canuck]

…

[xsbank]

Ever been given "position and hold?"

Why not?

[Pratt X 3]

One of those old pilot's wives tales, mixed in with some stupid-stition. Somebody, once upon a time, must have had the parking brake stick on and it caused all sorts of issues. Yelling from the other seat, the tower, the chief pilot's office, etc.. So it was decreed from high above, that the parking brake was not to be used on an active runway, under penalty of death or worse. And that has been handed down from left seat to right seat, over and over again.

[Illya Kuryakin]

Why is it a bad idea?

It's not forbidden in my AOM or FOM or by government regulation.

Thought the answer would be pretty obvious. Guess not. Guess nobody has ever had a parking brake stick on? Or freeze? There you are, on the active wearing a fresh set of goat horns.
Illya

[ahramin]

I should clarify that I'm not talking about some poorly maintained Cessna that sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. Transport category aircraft.

But no, I've never had a parking brake stick. I would consider a parking brake that sticks unserviceable and MEL as such. Is this a common occurrence?

[sanjet]

Never had that procedure. Never heard of that...

[VSF]

I did this once in YTS when I had to wait 15 mins for a clearance (Traffic landing on the other runway). Departed, realized after takeoff the parking brake didn't release completely, landed at our destination with the parking brake engaged on one side.
So yeah, no parking brake on the runway!

[pelmet]

One of those old pilot's wives tales, mixed in with some stupid-stition. Somebody, once upon a time, must have had the parking brake stick on and it caused all sorts of issues. Yelling from the other seat, the tower, the chief pilot's office, etc.. So it was decreed from high above, that the parking brake was not to be used on an active runway, under penalty of death or worse. And that has been handed down from left seat to right seat, over and over again.

Some old wives tales for you....combined fatalities between the two accidents.....50.

https://aviation-safety.net/database/re ... 19800130-0
Narrative:
Takeoff attempted without releasing the parking brake the Falcon overran runway 18 came to rest in 25 feet of water about 300 feet from the departure end of the runway.

Probable Cause:

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The flightcrew's failure to release the parking brake before the takeoff roll was started, which resulted in significant wheel/brake drag and a nosedown pitching moment that inhibited the aircraft's capability to effect a normal acceleration and rotation for takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the lack of adequate company checklist procedures to insure the timely release of the parking brakes."

http://aviation-safety.net/database/rec ... 19701127-1

Narrative:
The DC-8 operated on a flight for the Military Airlift Command (MAC) from Tacoma-McChord AFB to Cam Ranh Bay via Anchorage and Yokota. The aircraft failed to become airborne while trying to takeoff from Anchorage runway 06R and overran. It struck a wooden barrier, an ILS structure, a 12-foot deep drainage ditch and caught fire.

Probable Cause:

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The failure of the aircraft to attain the necessary airspeed to effect lift-off during the attempted takeoff. The lack of acceleration, undetected by the crew until after the aircraft reached V1 speed, was the result of a high frictional drag which was caused by a failure of all main landing gear wheels to rotate. Although it was determined that a braking pressure sufficient to lock all of the wheels was imparted to the brake system, the source of this pressure could not be determined. Possible sources of the unwanted braking pressure were either a hydraulic/brake system malfunction or an inadvertently engaged parking brake."

[altiplano]

Isolated accident... There's lots of things you can forget and we all know there's a couple accidents for just about every possibly in this industry...

I'm sure there's another one where the guy didn't set the brake and got distracted and started rolling and caused an incursion and accident on another runway or rolled into a ditch or something...

I've never had a parking brake stick on a 705 airplane I've flown... I've never forgot to take one off either after holding on position or setting it for an engine run-up in position...

I mean you really can't forget it on the Boeing - you know it's on because you don't move at 60-70% N1 when the brake is set... You probably don't move at full jam, but I've never tried...

I guess we didn't use them on the smaller planes because they just didn't work...

Parking brake is an important and useful piece of equipment.

[nine sixteenths]

I've had to rescue a smaller aircraft that landed with the parking brake on, pilot denied departing with it on but it was certainly very firmly and effectively on when they landed. Scrubbed the main tires off completely in the incredibly short landing "roll", the brake held well enough the tires didn't turn at all even under that unexpected momentum application! Good thing the sidewalls were tall and thick enough he didn't grind the wheels off with the tires

Upon liberal application of some tongue relaxing fluids once the red colour faded from the pilots face, he admitted that he was bored during the routine cargo flight he had performed a hundred times that year already, and was playing with things in the cockpit He didn't specifically recall putting the brake on but he figured he must have during the flight. Oops!

[justwork]

I use it. I've been told not to use it and I've been told to use it. So, for me, it's pilots discretion.

[av8ts]

Use it all the time when holding on the runway. There is a caution light, warning horn, and airmanship to keep me from taking off with it on

[pelmet]

Isolated accident... There's lots of things you can forget and we all know there's a couple accidents for just about every possibly in this industry...

I'm sure there's another one where the guy didn't set the brake and got distracted and started rolling and caused an incursion and accident on another runway or rolled into a ditch or something...

I've never had a parking brake stick on a 705 airplane I've flown... I've never forgot to take one off either after holding on position or setting it for an engine run-up in position...

So you don't change for an isolated incident. Two 747's crashing in Tenerife was isolated, after all, something like this rarely happens. But was enough for this....

ICAO-rules state that:
"the word "Take-Off" is only used when an aircraft is cleared for take-off, or when cancelling a take-off clearance. At other times the word "Departure" or "Airborne" is used." DOC 9432 "Manual of Radiotelephony" 2.8.3.3 (many countries deviate from ICAO-standards).

Maybe the parking brake issues were isolated incidents because enough guys just don't do it anymore.

Some more isolated accidents/incidents...

http://aerossurance.com/safety-manageme ... excursion/

https://aviation-safety.net/database/re ... 20110216-0

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... _03-11.pdf

https://www.fss.aero/accident-reports/d ... -04-US.pdf

[Chris M]

But how else will I manage a sweet powerslide exit onto the next taxiway to impress all the ladies?!

[Donald]

+1 to what altiplano and av8ts said.

C'mon people.

[telex]

Lol, why would you ever?

RTO leading to evacuation?

[bobo]

Many years ago when I was putting in hours towards my commercial in Fort William at the Superior Airways Flying school I was in a group of fellow students visiting the tower when a Beech 18 on wheels flown by O J Wieben (owner of Superior Airways) was landing. He had ferried the surplus A/C from Saskatchewan to the harbor in Port Arthur where Superior had a base for ski planes. He landed the 18 on the ice, set the parking brake and left the engines running while he went into the office to call the tower in Fort William to let them know that he was coming and had no radios. He got permission and jumped in the 18 and took off on the ice with the parking brake still on, flew to the airport and made the shortest landing ever made in an 18. Upon touchdown smoke poured off the tires, the tail rose to the point where it was almost vertical, both props hit the runway and the airplane balanced on it's nose for a few seconds before the tail came crashing down. A couple of moments later a much red in the faced OJ emerged from the door and walked around the airplane surveying the damage. Even though I flew for him for several years I never mentioned to him that I had had a ring-side-seat to his record shattering landing. Moral of the story is, any time you put the parking brake on, remember to take it off.

[rxl]

Great story!

[ahramin]

Pelmet thanks for all the excellent examples. A partially released parking brake is not something I had ever considered. On aircraft where this is a possibility I'm definitely going to be more careful confirming that the parking brake is properly off each time, on the runway or not.

I guess now I know why the parking brake is part of the takeoff config warning .

[GyvAir]

Better not touch anything while on the active. Who knows what might fail, right when you least expect it?

On the forgetting to release the parking brake angle, I'm sure there's at least a thread or two on here about forgetting to release/remove control locks.