# Incident 19970111002989I: Cessna 172M, Bartow, FL, January 11, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 11, 1997, 13:50 local time
- Place: Bartow, FL
- Airport: Bartow Municipal Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Starting Engines
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 27.8964° N, 81.8431° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Bartow, FL, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=27.8964&lon=-81.8431&mi=10
- Aircraft: N828RM, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N828RM-2017-02-17) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172M (registry code 2072418, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172m) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172M
- Reported engine: LYC O320E2D
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,600 total, 200 in this make and model, 60 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970111002989I

## Narrative

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

NARRATIVE: ON JANUARY 11, 1997, AT APPROXIMATELY 1530 ZULU, AIRCRAFT N828RM, CE-172-M, SERIAL NUMBER 17264715, OPERATED BY MR. ROBERT H. WITKOP, FAA CERT. NO. 371385303, CAUGHT FIRE DURING ENGINE START. THE FIRE WAS LOCATED IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND WAS CONTAINED AND EXTINGUISHED IMMEDIATELY. THE FIRE WAS CONFINED MOSTLY TO THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND DID NOT APPEAR TO HAVE CAUSED ANY OTHER DAMAGE. MR. WITKOP STATED THAT HE NOTICED SMOKE EMANATING FROM UNDER THE INSTRUMENT PANEL, APPROXIMATELY 20 TO 30 SECONDS AFTER ENGINE START. HE IMMEDIATELY TURNED OFF THE ENGINE AND THE MASTER BATTERY SWITCH AND THEN BOTH HE AND HIS PASSENGER EVACUATED THE AIRCRAFT. AN INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED THAT THE FIRE WAS CONFINED TO THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND DID NOT APPEAR TO HAVE CAUSED ANY OTHER DAMAGE. THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT APPEARED TO HAVE SUSTAINED SEVERE DAMAGE FROM HEAT AND SMOKE. MOST OF THE ELECTRICAL HARNESSES, CABLES, AND COMPONENTS WERE DESTROYED. THE HEAT HAD CAUSED THE INSULATION TO MELT OFF OF THE CABLES, SHORTING THE EXPOSED WIRES. ALSO, IDENTIFIED SEVERE DAMAGE TO SEVERAL HOSES, BELTS AND ASSOCIATED COMPONENTS. THIS INCIDENT IS STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION, PENDING THE OUTCOME OF A MECHANICAL EVALUATION.

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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