# Accident 20240314002229A: Wright David SPORTSMAN 2 + 2, Fort Meade, FL, March 14, 2024

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 14, 2024, 14:42 local time
- Place: Fort Meade, FL
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 27.7515° N, 81.7972° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=27.7515&lon=-81.7972&mi=10
- Aircraft: N76TG, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N76TG) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Wright David SPORTSMAN 2+2 (registry code 05627L0, https://openairdocs.org/model/wright-david-sportsman-2-plus-2) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: WRIGHT DAVID SPORTSMAN 2 + 2
- Reported engine: LYCOMING YO-360-A1F6
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 2
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 2,300 total, 21 in this make and model, 25 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA24LA144](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA24LA144) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240314002229A

## Narrative

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

ON MARCH 14, 2024 AT APPROXIMATELY 1323 EDT, AN EXPERIMENTAL AMATEUR BUILT SPORTSMAN 2+2 WITH A PILOT AND A PASSENGER ON BOARD DEPARTED LAKELAND LINDER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (KLAL), LAKELAND, FL, FOR FLY IN RANCHES AIRPORT (FD25), VERO BEACH, FL. IMMEDIATELY AFTER TAKE OFF, THE PILOT SMELLED SMOKE AND REPORTED SMOKE IN THE COCKPIT TO ATC. THE PILOT LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT, INSPECTED THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND FOUND WHAT HE BELIEVED TO BE A DISCOLORED SCAT TUBE TOUCHING THE ENGINE HEADER PIPE AND CARBURETOR HEAT VALVE PARTIALLY OPEN. HE CORRECTED THESE ISSUES AND AT APPROXIMATELY 1440 EDT, TOOK OFF AGAIN. APPROXIMATELY TEN MILES OUT FROM KLAL, THE COCKPIT FILLED WITH SMOKE, THE ENGINE STOPPED, AND THE PILOT EMERGENCY LANDED IN AN OPEN FIELD NEAR FORT MEADE, FL. UPON LANDING, THE AIRCRAFT MAIN WHEELS SUNK INTO THE LOOSE DIRT AND THE AIRCRAFT FLIPPED UPSIDE DOWN. THE PILOT AND PASSENGER EGRESSED WITH NO INJURIES. THE FIRE IN THE ENGINE THEN SPREAD TO THE ENTIRE AIRCRAFT. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ERA24LA144](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA24LA144), Mar 14, 2024: Glasair Sportsman 2+2 (N76TG), Fort Meade, FL, destroyed. Probable cause: The pilot’s inadequate inspection of the airplane following an inflight smoke event, which result in separation of the exhaust pipe and hot exhaust igniting the engine cowling, and a subsequent loss…

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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