- Date
- April 25, 1992, 14:45 local (18:45 UTC)
- Place
- Orangeburg, SC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7973LBeech 23A-19
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 9, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920425011139A
- Case key
- 8594
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
The deterioration of the exhaust muffler which resulted in an inflight fire.
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
Shortly after takeoff the pilot noticed smoke coming from under the instrument panel. He elected to return to the departure airport where he made an emergency landing. The pilot taxied the airplane into a grassy area where it burned. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the exhaust muffler had deteriorated and there was a hole in the muffler assembly. The fire destroyed the airframe tachometer, therefore the airframe total time and time since the last annual inspection were not determined.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7973L
- Reported as
- Beech 23A-19
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- MB-154
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2C, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- In-Flight
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Walker And Associates
- Registered owner
- Walker And Associates
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 5, 1991
- Destination
- SSI · Brunswick, GA
- Airport
- OGB · Orangeburg Municipal Airp, runway 22, 4,500 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- 25
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,813 total · 5 in this make and model · 1,691 as pilot in command · 222 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 13 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 45,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CAE, 15 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.