33.5207° N, 86.8025° WPlaced by OpenAirDocs: center of Birmingham, AL, within about 7 miles.Open in the map
Date
June 6, 1989 · 15:55 local
Place
Birmingham, AL
Airport
Birmingham Municipal
Phase of flight
Normal Cruise
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Aircraft
N609GA
Reported as
Piper PA42
People aboard
2
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
6,000 total30 in this make and model80 in the last 90 days
From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
Smoke from overhead light panel. Disconnected power and smoke stopped. Power supply wire had shorted.
As the FAA filed it
SMOKE FROM OVERHEAD LIGHT PANEL. DISCONNECTED POWER AND SMOKE STOPPED. POWER SUPPLY WIRE HAD SHORTED.