# Incident 19971014033769I: Piper PA28140, Killeen, TX, October 14, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 14, 1997, 18:17 local time
- Place: Killeen, TX
- Airport: Killeen Municipal Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Forced/Precautionary Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 31.1171° N, 97.7278° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Killeen, TX, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.1171&lon=-97.7278&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4434J, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4434J) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-140 (registry code 7102802, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-140) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28140
- Reported engine: LYC O320E2A
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 451 total, 193 in this make and model, 34 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971014033769I

## Narrative

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

NARRATIVE: ON OCTOBER 14, 1997 AT 1817 HOURS CDT, A PIPER PA-28-140, N4434J, OPERATED ON A PART 91 FLIGHT DEPARTED KILLEEN MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (ILE) KILLEEN, TEXAS ON A LOCAL FLIGHT. IMMEDIATELY AFTER TAKEOFF THE COMMERCIAL PILOT SMELLED AN ELECTRICAL FIRE, THEN NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM THE AIRCRAFT COWLING. A HOLE WAS MELTED IN THE TOP COWLING AND FLAMES WERE SEEN COMING FROM THIS AREA. THE PILOT TURNED THE AIRCRAFT 180 DEGREES AND RETURNED TO THE RUNWAY HE HAD JUST DEPARTED FROM AND LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER DAMAGE. THE AIRCRAFT SUFFERED MINOR DAMAGE AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE AIRPORT FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONDED AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS SECURED. THE FIRE WAS CAUSED BY A HOLE IN THE MUFFLER ALLOWING FLAMES TO BURN THE ACCESSORY SECTION OF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED AND VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED. THIS OFFICE CONSIDERS THIS INCIDENT CLOSED. NONE OF THESE ISSUES ARE INVOLVED. THE INCIDENT WAS BEYOND THE PILOTS CONTROL, AND THE MUFFLER WAS NOT EVIDENT AT THE LAST INSPECTION.

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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