# Incident 20110927023339I: Piper PA-28-161, Gainesville, FL, September 27, 2011

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 27, 2011, 21:30 local time
- Place: Gainesville, FL
- Airport: Gainesville Regional
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Rollout
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: 5FFS
- Location: 29.6901° N, 82.2718° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at GAINESVILLE RGNL (GNV), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.6901&lon=-82.2718&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9086N (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-28-161
- Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 500 total, 25 in this make and model, 260 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20110927023339I

## Narrative

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

^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, HOLDER OF COMMERCIAL PILOT CERTIFICATE NUMBER ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, WAS ACTING AS PILOT IN COMMAND OF N9086N, A PIPER CHEROKEE WARRIOR, WHILE PROVIDING NIGHT CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENT PILOT ARMIN ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, HOLDER OF STUDENT PILOT CERTIFICATE NUMBER ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.  THE INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT THE ST. AUGUSTINE AIRPORT, ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA (SGJ) AND UNTIL LANDING AT GNV WAS UNEVENTFUL.ONCE ARRIVING IN THE GNV RUNWAY 25 TRAFFIC PATTERN ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ PROVIDED INSTRUCTION TO ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ FOR A SHORT FIELD LANDING.  AFTER LANDING ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ STATED THE ENGINE QUIT RUNNING.  ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ ADVISED THE GNV TOWER THAT THE ENGINE QUIT RUNNING AND ATTEMPTED A RESTART THE ENGINE.  SEVERAL UNSUCCESSFUL RESTART ATTEMPTS WERE MADE BY ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WHEN THE ENGINE BACKFIRED.  SHORTLY THEREAFTER ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ ALERTED ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ THAT FLAMES WERE COMING FROM THE ENGINE.  ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AND ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ EXITED THE AIRCRAFT ON THE RUNWAY WHERE CRASH FIRE RESCUE (CFR) ARRIVED AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE.^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ STATED THAT THE CHECKLIST USED FOR ALL FLIGHT OPERATIONS WAS THE MANUFACTURES CHECKLIST FROM THE PILOTS OPERATING HANDBOOK (POH); HOWEVER, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ STATED THAT THE CARBURETOR HEAT WAS SELECTED ON FOR THE APPROACH AND LANDING WHICH IS CONTRARY TO THE POH APPROACH AND LANDING CHECKLIST.  ADDITIONALLY, WHEN ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WAS ASKED WHEN HE TURNED THE CARBURETOR OFF AFTER LANDING ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ STATED THAT HE DID NOT TURN THE CARBURETOR HEAT OFF UNTIL AFTER HE MADE SEVERAL START ATTEMPTS WHICH IS CONTRARY TO THE POH NORMAL START-HOT ENGINE CHECKLIST.  ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ STATED THAT HE DID NOT ATTEMPT AN ENGINE FIRE DURING START CHECKLIST AFTER THE ENGINE BACKFIRED AND CAUGHT ON FIRE PRIOR TO EXITING THE AIRCRAFT.THE ONLY SITUATIONS WHEN THE POH INDICATES THAT CARBURETOR HEAT SHOULD BE USED ARE IF CARBURETOR ICE IS ENCOUNTERED, SUSPECTED, OR ICING CONDITIONS ARE SUSPECTED WHILE IN A DESCENT.  THE POH APPROACH AND LANDING PROCEDURE STATES THAT CARBURETOR HEAT SHOULD NOT BE APPLIED UNLESS THERE IS AN INDICATION OF CARBURETOR ICING.^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WAS COUNSELED ON THE IMPORTANCE OF STRICT ADHERENCE TO THE MANUFACTURER'S EMERGENCY AND NORMAL PROCEDURES.A REVIEW OF ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ LOGBOOK, AIRMAN CERTIFICATE, AND MEDICAL CERTIFICATE INDICATED THAT HE WAS LEGAL TO ACT AS PILOT IN COMMAND OF THE FLIGHT AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT.A REVIEW OF THE AIRCRAFT MAINTAINED LOGBOOKS INDICATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS IN AN AIRWORTHY CONDITION AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT.WEATHER WAS NOT CONSIDERED A FACTOR.INSPECTION OF THE FIRE DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT INDICATES THAT THE FIRE ORIGINATED WHERE SCAT TUBING FROM THE AIR FILTER AND CARBURETOR HEAT MUFF ATTACH TO THE CARBURETOR INTAKE COLLECTOR BOX.  DISCOLORATION OF THE ENGINE COWLING INDICATES THE HOTTEST FIRE BURNED AT THE AIR FILTER BOX WHICH APPEARED TO BE SEPARATED AS THE RESULT OF A BACKFIRE.  DISCOLORATION ALSO INDICATED THAT THE FLAMES CAME OUT OF THE INDUCTION AIR INTAKE SCOOP ON THE LOWER RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE COWLING.  DISCOLORATION FURTHER INDICATED THAT LOWER TEMPERATURE FIRE BEGAN TO SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE INNER RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE ENGINE COWLING AND OUT THROUGH THE RIGHT ENGINE COOLING INLET AND THEN THE LEFT ENGINE COOLING INLET.

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.