# Accident 19970705016909A: Cessna 182B, Mount Holly, NJ, July 5, 1997 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: July 5, 1997, 20:25 local time - Place: Mount Holly, NJ - Airport: South Jersey Reg Airport - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Final Approach - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 39.9429° N, 74.8457° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at , within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.9429&lon=-74.8457&mi=10 - Aircraft: N166KM, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N166KM-1998-12-22) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 182B (registry code 2072706, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-182b) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 182B - Reported engine: CONT O470L - People aboard: 3 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 1,160 total, 800 in this make and model, 60 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC97LA135](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC97LA135) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970705016909A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. AIRCRAFT WAS LANDING, TOUCHED DOWN, PILOT AND PASSENGERS EXITED, CAUGHT FIRE AND BURNED TO GROUND. (.19) ON JULY 5, 1997, AT 2025 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 182B, N166KM, WAS DESTROYED DURING A FORCED LANDING AND SUBSEQUENT FIRE AT THE SOUTH JERSEY REGIONAL AIRPORT (VAY), MEDFORD, NEW JERSEY. THE CERTIFICATED COMMERCIAL PILOT AND TWO PASSENGERS WERE NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE LOCAL FLIGHT THAT ORIGINATED AT VAY, AT 2015. NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. IN A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW, THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE TOOK OFF FROM VAY, ABOUT 2000, AND FLEW THREE TRAFFIC PATTERNS. AFTER THE THIRD TRAFFIC PATTERN, HE LANDED THE AIRPLANE, SHUT DOWN THE ENGINE, AND WAITED FOR THREE HOT AIR BALLOONS TO CROSS OVER THE AIRPORT. THE BALLOONS DEPARTED THE AREA AND THE PILOT RESTARTED THE ENGINE AND FLEW A FOURTH PATTERN. WHEN DESCRIBING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE AIRPLANE, THE PILOT SAID: "IT WAS RUNNING GREAT. EVERYTHING SOUNDED NORMAL AND LOOKED NORMAL. ABOUT HALF WAY DOWN ON FINAL I HEARD SOMETHING BETWEEN A BANG AND A THUMP. I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT CAME FROM. THE AIRCRAFT TRIED TO NOSE UP - STARTED TO PIT ICH UP, SO I PUSHED THE NOSE DOWN. I DIDN'T TOUCH THE THROTTLE BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT IT TO PITCH UP. I LOST SOME ALTITUDE IN A CRITICAL SPOT [AND] STRUCK THE NOSE GEAR ON THE END OF THE RUNWAY. WE WENT SKIDDING DOWN THE RUNWAY ON THE NOSE. THERE WERE SPARKS AND THEN OUT AND OUT FLAMES. I YELLED FOR EVERYONE TO GET OUT AND WITHIN 2 MINUTES [THE PLANE] WAS COMPLETELY GONE." A WITNESS ON THE AIRPORT WAS WATCHING N166KM THROUGH BINOCULARS. HER SON WAS A PASSENGER ON THE AIRPLANE. IN A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW THE WITNESS REPORTED: "AFTER THEY WAITED FOR THE BALLOONS, THEY DID A FOURTH PATTERN. THEY WERE COMING IN ON FINAL WHEN I HEARD A 'POW' NOISE - A LOUD 'POP'. AFTER THE 'POP', THE PLANE CAME DOWN LIKE SOMEONE DROPPING A BALL. I SAW FLAMES COMING OUT OF THE COWLINGS WHILE IT WAS STILL IN THE AIR. THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN AND THE [NOSE] WHEEL POPPED BACK. THE AIRPLANE SLID FOR A SHORT WAYS ON THE NOSE WITH THE TAIL UP IN THE AIR. THEN THE FLAMES CAME FROM UNDERNEATH AND AROUND THE CABIN." THE WITNESS REPORTED THAT THE THREE OCCUPANTS CLIMBED FROM THE AIRPLANE UNINJURED AND THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS CONSUMED BY FIRE IN LESS THAN 2 MINUTES. (.4) THE PILOT HAD FLOWN THREE CIRCUITS IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN BEFORE HE LANDED AND SHUT THE ENGINE DOWN TO AWAIT HOT AIR BALLOON TRAFFIC TO DEPART THE AREA. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, '(THE ENGINE) WAS RUNNING GREAT. EVERYTHING SOUNDED NORMAL AND LOOKED NORMAL. ABOUT HALF WAY DOWN ON FINAL I HEARD SOMETHING BETWEEN A BANG AND A THUMP. I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT CAME FROM. THE AIRCRAFT TRIED TO NOSE UP - STARTED TO PITCH UP, SO I PUSHED THE NOSE DOWN. I DIDN'T TOUCH THE THROTTLE BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT IT TO PITCH UP. I LOST SOME ALTITUDE IN A CRITICAL SPOT [AND] STRUCK THE NOSE GEAR ON THE END OF THE RUNWAY. WE WENT SKIDDING DOWN THE RUNWAY ON THE NOSE. THERE WERE SPARKS AND THEN OUT AND OUT FLAMES.' ACCORDING TO A WITNESS, 'AFTER THEY WAITED FOR THE BALLOONS, THEY DID A FOURTH PATTERN. THEY WERE COMING IN ON FINAL WHEN I HEARD A 'POW' NOISE - A LOUD 'POP'. AFTER THE 'POP', THE PLANE CAME DOWN LIKE SOMEONE DROPPING A BALL. I SAW FLAMES COMING OUT OF THE COWLINGS WHILE IT WAS STILL IN THE AIR. THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN AND THE [NOSE] WHEEL POPPED BACK. THE AIRPLANE SLID FOR A SHORT WAYS ON THE NOSE WITH THE TAIL UP IN THE AIR. THEN THE FLAMES CAME FROM UNDERNEATH AND AROUND THE CABIN.' EXTENSIVE FIRE DAMAGE PRECLU DED DETERMINATION OF THE ORIGIN OR WHAT INITIATED THE FIRE. ## 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 NYC97LA135](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC97LA135), Jul 6, 1997: Cessna 182B (N166KM), Medford, NJ, destroyed. Probable cause: An inflight engine fire of undetermined origin. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.