# Incident 20220327012039I: Piper PA-28-140, Columbia, SC, March 27, 2022

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 27, 2022, 13:20 local time
- Place: Columbia, SC
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.0007° N, 81.0348° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Columbia, SC, within about 7 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.0007&lon=-81.0348&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8300R, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8300R) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-140 (registry code 7102802, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-140) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-28-140
- Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 1,380 total
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20220327012039I

## Narrative

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

FAA FORM 8020-9: ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^A P28A WAS VFR INBOUND TO CAE.^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WAS TOLD TO ENTER A RIGHT BASE TO RWY29 AND SWITCHED TO TOWER. TOWER CLEARED THE AIRCRAFT TO LAND RWY29. THE PILOT NEVER RESPONDED AND NEVER DECLARED AN EMERGENCY. BOTH TOWER AND RADAR TRIED TO CONTACT THE AIRCRAFT ON MULTIPLE FREQUENCIES INCLUDING 121.5, WITH NO RESPONSE. THE PILOT^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, CALLED CAE TOWER FROM HIS CELLPHONE^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AND STATED HE HAD SMOKE BEHIND THE PANEL AND LOST COMMUNICATIONS AND DECIDED TO LAND IN A FIELD. (34.06542N/81.08839W). THE PILOT STATED THAT HE WAS FINE AND HAD NO INJURIES AND REPORTED THAT THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT. (NO OTHER SOULS ON BOARD) CAE AND THE PILOT CALLED LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT TO HAVE THEM SEND SOMEONE TO THE SCENE.

PILOT STATEMENT: I ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^WAS FLYING AIRCRAFT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ FROM KSVH TO KCAE. UPON MY DESCENT INTO KCAE I NOTICED THE AMMETER WAS WAVERING AND A FEW MINUTES LATER ALL OF THE ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT IN THE AIRPLANE FAILED. I THEN LOOKED DOWN AND NOTICED A LOT OF SMOKE BILLOWING IN THE CABIN FROM BEHIND THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. I IMMEDIATELY SHUT DOWN ALL ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT AND LOOKED FOR A SPOT TO LAND IN AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION THERE WAS SOME SORT OF FIRE. I LANDED IN A LARGE FIELD JUST OUTSIDE OF COLUMBIA.

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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