Narrative:

I was hired by the aircraft owner to repair faulty brakes and ferry the above aircraft to the shop for its annual inspection. After reinstalling the aircraft's master cylinder; and bleeding the brakes; I did a preflight and started the aircraft to ferry it. I began taxiing around the t-hangars and called ground control; I was given departure instructions and a squawk code; and I read it back. By this time I was getting close to the taxiway and began braking to hold short; 'the brakes failed'. I pulled the mixture to cut off; and ATC told me that he had not cleared me to taxi onto the taxiway and that I was now cleared to taxi to runway 4 via juliet and echo. I began my read back and was explaining I had mechanical issues when my communications radio started cutting out and then quit. Keep in mind I am only about 20 feet onto the taxiway from the t-hangars. The two owners walked out to the aircraft to see what the problem was and assist on removing the aircraft. I immediately called the tower via cell phone to explain what the problem was. He said to remove the aircraft and that the two people should not have walked out. We pushed the aircraft back and I called the tower again and gave him my information and the names of the two gentlemen; as well as explaining the situation. I do not know if the rest is useful information but it concludes the day. When I spoke to the tower I explained about the brakes and radio and that I would bleed the brakes again and get light signals for departure if possible. He said that was fine. I bled the brakes; got them operational; disconnected and placarded the radio as inoperative; and phoned the tower. He cleared me to taxi via telephone via juliet and echo hold short of runway 4 at echo. I read it back got a green light signal and began taxiing. I called the tower when I was approaching runway 4 as instructed; and was told to check my brakes; they worked momentarily and weakened. The tower instructed me to shutdown; and we discussed the options; I decided to abort the flight for the day as it was getting dark anyway. ATC instructed me to call the owners that they were cleared onto the taxiway to help me push the aircraft back to the hangar. Once at the hangar I called the tower to thank him for his help and to tell him we were clear of the taxiway. We had a good laugh and concluded the conversation.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An Ercoupe pilot reported that following brake system maintenance the brakes failed to operate properly on two separate taxi for takeoff attempts.

Narrative: I was hired by the aircraft owner to repair faulty brakes and ferry the above aircraft to the shop for its annual inspection. After reinstalling the aircraft's master cylinder; and bleeding the brakes; I did a preflight and started the aircraft to ferry it. I began taxiing around the T-Hangars and called Ground Control; I was given departure instructions and a squawk code; and I read it back. By this time I was getting close to the taxiway and began braking to hold short; 'The brakes failed'. I pulled the mixture to cut off; and ATC told me that he had not cleared me to taxi onto the taxiway and that I was now cleared to taxi to Runway 4 via Juliet and Echo. I began my read back and was explaining I had mechanical issues when my communications radio started cutting out and then quit. Keep in mind I am only about 20 feet onto the taxiway from the T-Hangars. The two owners walked out to the aircraft to see what the problem was and assist on removing the aircraft. I immediately called the Tower via cell phone to explain what the problem was. He said to remove the aircraft and that the two people should not have walked out. We pushed the aircraft back and I called the Tower again and gave him my information and the names of the two gentlemen; as well as explaining the situation. I do not know if the rest is useful information but it concludes the day. When I spoke to the Tower I explained about the brakes and radio and that I would bleed the brakes again and get light signals for departure if possible. He said that was fine. I bled the brakes; got them operational; disconnected and placarded the radio as inoperative; and phoned the Tower. He cleared me to taxi via telephone via Juliet and Echo hold short of Runway 4 at Echo. I read it back got a green light signal and began taxiing. I called the Tower when I was approaching Runway 4 as instructed; and was told to check my brakes; they worked momentarily and weakened. The Tower instructed me to shutdown; and we discussed the options; I decided to abort the flight for the day as it was getting dark anyway. ATC instructed me to call the owners that they were cleared onto the taxiway to help me push the aircraft back to the hangar. Once at the hangar I called the Tower to thank him for his help and to tell him we were clear of the taxiway. We had a good laugh and concluded the conversation.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.