# Incident 19961217044949I: Doug DC931, Austin, TX, December 17, 1996

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 17, 1996, 18:50 local time
- Place: Austin, TX
- Airport: Robert Mueller Municipal
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct)
- Operating rules: Air carrier (Part 121)
- Operator: NWAA
- Location: 30.2672° N, 97.7431° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Austin, TX, within about 10 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.2672&lon=-97.7431&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9605 (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: DOUG DC931
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 6,997 total, 3,326 in this make and model, 109 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19961217044949I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: START VALVE STAYED OPEN AFTER #2 ENGINE WAS STARTED. MAINTENANCE CLOSED THE VALVE MANUALLY AS PER MEL 80-2 AND 80-1. AFTER TAKE OFF AND DURING CLIMB, THE START VALVE AGAIN OPENED INTERMITTENTLY. THE STARTER THEN DISENTEGRATED DOING DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE COWLING AND CAUSING A FIRE. ENGINE WAS SHUT DOWN, AGENT DISCARDED AND AIRCRAFT RETURNED TO AUSTIN. IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT NWAA APPROVED MEL HAS NO PROVISION TO ELECTRICALLY ISOLATE THE STARTER CONTROL VALVE. AGENCY COMPETENCY. MEL HAS NO PROVISION TO ELECTRICALLY ISOLATE THE STARTER CONTROL VALVE AS ALL OTHER CARRIERS HAVE.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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