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20080214013899I

Incident · Destroyed
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FAA incident report · Cessna 182P · Atlanta, GA · February 14, 2008

FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal

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Date
February 14, 2008 · 09:20 local
Place
Atlanta, GA
Airport
Cobb County-Mc Collum Field
Phase of flight
Starting Engines
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Destroyed
Aircraft
N8901M
Reported as
Cessna 182P
Reported engine
Continental O470*
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
515 total170 in this make and model6 in the last 90 days
N8901MRegistration cancelled Apr 15, 2009 · Cessna 182PS/N 18264637 · Built 1976Airframe modelCessna 182PEngine modelContinental O-470 seriesReciprocating

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

(-23) Owner attempted to start a/c. battery was dead, so he called FBO for an external power start. Cart was plugged in and pilot/owner turned on master and began to crank the engine when he heard a loud bang coming from the rear of aircraft. He turned master switch off, got out of aircraft and went to look at rear of aircraft. He opened rear baggage compartment door and then noticed a blue flame coming out of tail section into rear baggage. The fbo/external cart operator grabbed his fire extinguisher and tried to fire it into the aircraft, but it failed (the agent was not expelled). The aircraft burnt to the ground. The fire department extinguished the fire, but the aircraft was totally destroyed. It seemed that the battery exploded minutes after the external power was connected. The battery's state of charge was already poor, and the power cart's power selector/setting was not verified by the owner/operator of the aircraft prior to turning the master switch on. Additionally, the battery may have exploded when a full charge was applied to the battery, as it may not have been serviced properly (the aircraft had sat for approximately 4 months without since it was last used). According to the a/c owner, the aircraft had approximately six operational hours on it since its last annual. The a/c logs were completely destroyed in the fire.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) OWNER ATTEMPTED TO START A/C. BATTERY WAS DEAD, SO HE CALLED FBO FOR AN EXTERNAL POWER START. CART WAS PLUGGED IN AND PILOT/OWNER TURNED ON MASTER AND BEGAN TO CRANK THE ENGINE WHEN HE HEARD A LOUD BANG COMING FROM THE REAR OF AIRCRAFT. HE TURNED MASTER SWITCH OFF, GOT OUT OF AIRCRAFT AND WENT TO LOOK AT REAR OF AIRCRAFT. HE OPENED REAR BAGGAGE COMPARTMENT DOOR AND THEN NOTICED A BLUE FLAME COMING OUT OF TAIL SECTION INTO REAR BAGGAGE. THE FBO/EXTERNAL CART OPERATOR GRABBED HIS FIRE EXTINGUISHER AND TRIED TO FIRE IT INTO THE AIRCRAFT, BUT IT FAILED (THE AGENT WAS NOT EXPELLED). THE AIRCRAFT BURNT TO THE GROUND. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE, BUT THE AIRCRAFT WAS TOTALLY DESTROYED. IT SEEMED THAT THE BATTERY EXPLODED MINUTES AFTER THE EXTERNAL POWER WAS CONNECTED. THE BATTERY'S STATE OF CHARGE WAS ALREADY POOR, AND THE POWER CART'S POWER SELECTOR/SETTING WAS NOT VERIFIED BY THE OWNER/OPERATOR OF THE AIRCRAFT PRIOR TO TURNING THE MASTER SWITCH ON. ADDITIONALLY, THE BATTERY MAY HAVE EXPLODED WHEN A FULL CHARGE WAS APPLIED TO THE BATTERY, AS IT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN SERVICED PROPERLY (THE AIRCRAFT HAD SAT FOR APPROXIMATELY 4 MONTHS WITHOUT SINCE IT WAS LAST USED). ACCORDING TO THE A/C OWNER, THE AIRCRAFT HAD APPROXIMATELY SIX OPERATIONAL HOURS ON IT SINCE ITS LAST ANNUAL. THE A/C LOGS WERE COMPLETELY DESTROYED IN THE FIRE.