20120515028829I

Incident · Substantial damage

FAA incident report · Piper PA-28-235 · Moses Lake, WA · May 15, 2012

Date: May 15, 2012 · 20:15 local
Place: Moses Lake, WA
Phase of flight: Landing: Rollout
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Substantial damage
Aircraft: N9299W
Reported as: Piper PA-28-235
Reported engine: Lycoming 0-540 series
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificate: Student
Pilot’s flight hours: 100 total50 in this make and model10 in the last 90 days

N9299WRegistration cancelled Jun 17, 2014 · Piper PA-28-235S/N 28-10977 · Built 1967 Airframe modelPiper PA-28-235 Engine modelLycoming 0-540 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.

Powerplant quit on roll out and the aircraft was stopped. Pilot was attempting a restart when he noticed smoke coming from the right side of the engine cowling. He exited the aircraft to investigate and discovered flames coming out of the cowling. The fire spread to the cockpit and the pilot only had time to retrieve logs and personl items in the front seat. Pilot was unsure of the position of the fuel boost pump after landing. Ignition source is unknown. Fire originated from the air filter container. Engine rotated okay by hand. It appears that the engine quit with the boost pump on and the boost pump continued to feed fuel to the fire spreading to the cabin through the cabin heat system.

As the FAA filed it

POWERPLANT QUIT ON ROLL OUT AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS STOPPED. PILOT WAS ATTEMPTING A RESTART WHEN HE NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ENGINE COWLING. HE EXITED THE AIRCRAFT TO INVESTIGATE AND DISCOVERED FLAMES COMING OUT OF THE COWLING. THE FIRE SPREAD TO THE COCKPIT AND THE PILOT ONLY HAD TIME TO RETRIEVE LOGS AND PERSONL ITEMS IN THE FRONT SEAT. PILOT WAS UNSURE OF THE POSITION OF THE FUEL BOOST PUMP AFTER LANDING. IGNITION SOURCE IS UNKNOWN. FIRE ORIGINATED FROM THE AIR FILTER CONTAINER. ENGINE ROTATED OKAY BY HAND. IT APPEARS THAT THE ENGINE QUIT WITH THE BOOST PUMP ON AND THE BOOST PUMP CONTINUED TO FEED FUEL TO THE FIRE SPREADING TO THE CABIN THROUGH THE CABIN HEAT SYSTEM.