- Date
- January 23, 1991, 13:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Warm Springs, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N4718DCessna 182A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910123002949A
- Case key
- 8370
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
An electrical short related to the alternator from an undetermined source.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
According to the pilot, during the engine runup, the right mag drop was significant. With the mag switch back on both, it was ok. Again on the right mag the engine backfired & quit. It was started again with the same RPM drop on the right mag. Puffs of smoke were observed from under the engine. He got out, opened the cowling, & saw flames. The local fd put out the fire. An FAA inspector found that the fire initiated from the alternator. The instrument panel was also burned but not the interior side of the firewall. A short appeared to have occurred at the top of the instrument panel.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4718D
- Reported as
- Cessna 182A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 34818
- Engine
- Continental O-470R, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Mattei, Paul J.
- Registered owner
- Vertigo Aviation, Inc.
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 14, 1990 · 29 hours before
- Destination
- New Orleans, LA
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- 5A9 · Roosevelt Memorial, runway 17, 3,000 × 75 ft, concrete
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 44
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 1,229 total · 533 in this make and model · 1,195 as pilot in command · 32 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 5 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.