# Incident 20060930026379I: Univar 415C, Meriden, CT, September 30, 2006

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 30, 2006, 19:15 local time
- Place: Meriden, CT
- Airport: Meriden Markham Municipal Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Starting Engines
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 41.5087° N, 72.8295° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at MERIDEN MARKHAM MUNI (MMK), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.5087&lon=-72.8295&mi=10
- Aircraft: N99866, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N99866-2007-03-16) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Ercoupe 415-C (registry code 0420322, https://openairdocs.org/model/ercoupe-415-c) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental A&C75 series (registry code 17005, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c75-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: UNIVAR 415C
- Reported engine: CONT C75*
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,250 total, 950 in this make and model
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060930026379I

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON 09-30-06, AT 1930 LOCAL IN MERIDEN MARKHAM AIRPORT (MMK), AIRCRAFT N99866 WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE DURING AN ATTEMPTED HAND PROPPING START BY THE REGISTERED OWNER. THE AIRCRAFT, A 1946 ERCOUPE SERIAL NUMBER 2489, HAD THE EXTERIOR POLISHED AND WAS TO BE REPOSITIONED TO ITS RESPECTIVE TIE DOWN SPOT. AS REPORTED BY THE OWNER, THE AIRCRAFT BATTERY WAS WEAK AND THE ENGINE WOULD NOT START USING THE NORMAL START PROCEDURE. THE OWNER ELECTED TO MANUALLY HAND PROP THE ENGINE WHILE THE AIRCRAFT WAS CHOCKED, AND AT THAT TIME, A LOUD POP WAS HEARD WITH VISIBLE FLAMES COMING FROM THE ENGINE COWLING AREA. AN ATTEMPT TO GET THE PORTABLE HAND FIRE EXTINGUISHER LOCATED IN THE COCKPIT WAS MADE, BUT THE FLAMES QUICKLY PROGRESSED THROUGHOUT THE AIRCRAFT. A CALL TO 911 AS MADE, AND THE MERIDEN FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED AND EXTINGUISHED THE 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.

---
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.