19951013037479I

Incident · Substantial damage

FAA incident report · Piper PA-23-250 · Beckley, WV · October 13, 1995

Date: October 13, 1995 · 20:00 local
Place: Beckley, WV
Airport: Raleigh County Memorial
Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Substantial damage
Aircraft: N65SC
NTSB investigation: NTSBBFO96IA012
Reported as: Piper PA23250
People aboard: 4
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 1,767 total640 in this make and model39 in the last 90 days

N65SCRegistered now · Piper PA-23-250S/N 27-7405445 · Built 1974 Airframe modelPiper PA-23-250 Engine modelLycoming TI0-540 seriesTurbo-prop

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.

Narrative: while enroute from york, pa to Beckley, WV, Piper aztec N65SC, piloted by edward dench, jr. experienced an in-flight fire and declared an emergency with the charleston approach control. The pilot reported seeing a bright flash on the extreme right side of the instrument panel which was followed by fire and smoke. The pilot was able to extinguish the flames by turning the master switch off but only after it had burned for a few minutes and had damaged an undetermined amount of electrical wiring circuits. The pilot chose to continue on to Beckley after restoring partial electrical power and was able to conduct an ILS approach to a safe landing without further incident or any injuries to himself or the three passengers. The cause of the fire is still undetermined at this time pending further investigation. Submission of this report closes this incident.

As the FAA filed it

NARRATIVE: WHILE ENROUTE FROM YORK, PA TO BECKLEY, WV, PIPER AZTEC N65SC, PILOTED BY EDWARD DENCH, JR. EXPERIENCED AN IN-FLIGHT FIRE AND DECLARED AN EMERGENCY WITH THE CHARLESTON APPROACH CONTROL. THE PILOT REPORTED SEEING A BRIGHT FLASH ON THE EXTREME RIGHT SIDE OF THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WHICH WAS FOLLOWED BY FIRE AND SMOKE. THE PILOT WAS ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE FLAMES BY TURNING THE MASTER SWITCH OFF BUT ONLY AFTER IT HAD BURNED FOR A FEW MINUTES AND HAD DAMAGED AN UNDETERMINED AMOUNT OF ELECTRICAL WIRING CIRCUITS. THE PILOT CHOSE TO CONTINUE ON TO BECKLEY AFTER RESTORING PARTIAL ELECTRICAL POWER AND WAS ABLE TO CONDUCT AN ILS APPROACH TO A SAFE LANDING WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT OR ANY INJURIES TO HIMSELF OR THE THREE PASSENGERS. THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE IS STILL UNDETERMINED AT THIS TIME PENDING FURTHER INVESTIGATION. SUBMISSION OF THIS REPORT CLOSES THIS INCIDENT.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.

NTSB BFO96IA012Incident · No injuriesIncident investigationFinal reportBeckley, WVan in-flight fire (behind the right side of the instrument panel), which occurred for undetermined reason(s).Oct 14, 1995 · Minor damage

Other reports on N65SC · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

Incident 19990325020069ILevel Off Touchdown · Bellefonte, PAOn March 25, 1999, at 1915 hours, a Piper aztec, (PA-23-250), N65SC, registered to travel health, LLC, and operated by edward dench, crashed upon landing at Bellefonte airport. Pilot dench said he forgot to lower the gear before landing resulting in a gear up…Mar 25, 1999 · Minor damage