# Incident 20080620840039I: Zinair CH2000, Merced, CA, June 20, 2008

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 20, 2008, 09:00 local time
- Place: Merced, CA
- Airport: Castle
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Other Ground Ops
- Operating rules: Pilot school (Part 141)
- Location: 37.3805° N, 120.5682° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at CASTLE (MER), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.3805&lon=-120.5682&mi=10
- Aircraft: N378AM, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N378AM-2018-04-18) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Aircraft Mfg & Development CH 2000 (registry code 0033001, https://openairdocs.org/model/aircraft-mfg-development-ch-2000) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: ZINAIR CH2000
- Reported engine: LYC O235N2C
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 638 total, 153 in this make and model, 185 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080620840039I

## Narrative

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

(-23) WHILE PERFORMING A WARM ENGINE START, FOLLWING THE INSTRUCTIONS OF THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT (CFI) AND THE PILOT OPERATING HANDBOOK (POH), THE STUDENT PILOT PRIMED THE ENGINE AND ATTEMPTED TO START THE ENGINE.  THE ENGINE FAILED TO START AND THE STUDENT PILOT PRIMED THE ENGINE AGAIN.  ON SECOND ENGINE START ATTEMPT, THE CFI NOTICED A PLUME OF WHITE SMOKE LATER CHANGING TO BLACK SMOKE AND FLAMES COMING FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT.  DUE TO THE SMOKE AND FLAMES, THE STUDENT PILOT AND CFI EXITED THE AIRCRAFT.  ON-SITE LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS DISPATCHED AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE.  INSPECTION OF THE INCIDENT AIRCRAFT REVEALED MINOR IRE DAMAGE TO THE FOLLOWING: ENGINE COWL, ENGINE CARBURETOR, ENGINE AIR BOX, ENGINE HEATER, AND ENGINE WIRING HARNESS.

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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