# Accident 19970410005839A: Tmpson NAVIONA, Quincy, FL, April 10, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 10, 1997, 14:26 local time
- Place: Quincy, FL
- Airport: Quincy Municipal Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 30.5797° N, 84.5804° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.5797&lon=-84.5804&mi=10
- Aircraft: N40FL, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N40FL-2013-09-10) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Navion NAVION A (registry code 6150104, https://openairdocs.org/model/navion-navion-a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental E225 series (registry code 17015, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-e225-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: TMPSON NAVIONA
- Reported engine: CONT E2254
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 862 total, 113 in this make and model, 2 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA97LA134](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA97LA134) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970410005839A

## Narrative

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

ON FINAL SMELLED ELECTRICAL FIRE AND HEAT ON LEGS. LANDED. FIRE ERUPTED. BATTERY CABBLE SHORTED AT FIREWALL. (-23) ON THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 1997, AT APPROXIMATELY 1426, A NAVION A, N40FL, SERIAL NUMBER NAV-4-856, EXPERIENCED A COCKPIT FIRE DURING TAXI AFTER LANDING AT QUINCY MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (2J9) VFR FLIGHT CONDITIONS PREVAILED IN THE AREA AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE LOCAL PERSONAL FLIGHT.  THE PRIVATE PILOT WAS THE SOLE OCCUPANT AND WAS NOT INJURED.  THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL FIRE DAMAGE TO THE COCKPIT, FUSELAGE, RIGHT WING, AND EMPENNAGE.  THE NOSE WHEEL ALSO COLLAPSED DUE TO THE FIRE MELTING AND WEAKENING THE SUPPORT STRUCTURE.  THE PILOT, MR. JOHN G. BRENNAN, REPORTED THE ODOR OF SMOKE IN THE COCKPIT AND FELT HEAT ON HIS LEGS.  THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE ODOR RESEMBLED WIRE INSULATION BURNING BEHIND THE INSTRUMENT PANEL.  THE WITNESS REPORT INDICATES A PROBABLE SHORT CIRCUIT BEHIND THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE INSTRUMENT PANEL.  THERE WERE DIRECT READING FUEL PRESSURE AND OIL PRESSURE INDICATORS IN THIS IMMEDIATE LOCATION.  THE HYDRAULIC SYSTEM MASTER CONTROL VALVE IS ALSO DIRECTLY UNDER THE FLOORBOARD ON THE RIGHT SIDE                                          IN THIS GENERAL AREA. THE FIRE WAS FURTHER AGGRAVATED BY HIGH WINDS AND WATER WHICH WAS USED BY GROUND PERSONNEL IN AN ATTEMPT TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE.  THESE FACTORS SPREAD RATHER THAN EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. ALL IDENTIFIABLE CIRCUIT BREAKERS WERE TRIPPED.  THE COCKPIT AREA INCLUDING THE FLOOR MELTED DUE TO THE INTENSE HEAT AND FIRE.  THIS WAS A MAINTENANCE TEST FLIGHT ON THE AIRCRAFT FOLLOWING AN ANNUAL INSPECTION, GROUND TESTS, ENGINE RUN, AND HIGH SPEED TAXI. THE PILOT AND MECHANIC BOTH REPORTED THAT NO AVIONICS, INSTRUMENTS, OR OTHER ELECTRICAL WORK WAS PERFORMED IN THE SUSPECTED AREA.  AIRCRAFT RECORDS, "LOG BOOKS" WERE DESTROYED IN THE AIRCRAFT FIRE.  ONLY THE COVER OF THE ENGINE LOG BOOK AND SOME ASSORTED PAPERS WERE IDENTIFIABLE.  DUE TO THE EXTENT, LOCATION AND INTENSITY OF THE AIRCRAFT FIRE, THE IGNITION SOURCE OF THE FIRE COULD NOT BE DETERMINED.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB MIA97LA134](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA97LA134), Apr 10, 1997: Navion A (N40FL), Quincy, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: chafing of an electrical cable that was routed through the firewall, which resulted in electrical arching and an in-flight fire.

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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