CEN14LA239

The multi-engine turbofan airplane was substantially damaged when the left engine experienced an uncontained fire during engine start. After being alerted to the fire by ground crewmembers, the flight crew shut down both engines and egressed the airplane. At the time of engine start, the airplane was subject to gusting crosswinds up to 24 knots. The aircraft flight manual specified a maximum allowable crosswind component of 19 knots during ground starts. The accident is consistent with a disruption of airflow through the engine due to the crosswind, which resulted in an engine fire.

On May 9, 2014, about 1537 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 525C multi-engine turbofan airplane, N718MV, was substantially damaged during an engine start at Rickenbacker International Airport (LCK), Columbus, Ohio. The two crewmembers and two passengers were not injured. The airplane was registered to Foxy Air 2009 LLC; Columbus, Ohio, and was being operated by Capital City Jet Center, Inc.; Columbus, Ohio. Day visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time of the accident and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on-demand passenger flight. At the time of the accident the airplane was preparing to depart LCK for a flight to Bolton Field Airport (TZR), Columbus, Ohio.The airplane was parked on the ramp and oriented on a heading of 325 degrees true with the main cabin door shut and the right engine operating. The flight crew had initiated a start sequence on the left engine when witnesses outside the airplane notified them of a fire in the left engine. The flight crew then shut down both engines, closed the left firewall shutoff, activated the fire bottle, and all four occupants evacuated through the main cabin door. The fire continued to burn and was extinguished by aircraft rescue and fire fighting (ARFF) crews who arrived quickly. The fire resulted in substantial damage to empennage, and the left engine pylon. The rear of the left engine cowling was mostly consumed. At 1535, the official surface weather observation site at LCK, reported wind from 210 degrees true at 19 knots, gusting to 27 knots, visibility of 10 miles, temperature 25 degrees Celsius (C), dew point 12 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 29.87 inches of Mercury. A standard headwind/crosswind component chart for the reported surface wind shown above revealed a tailwind component of 8 to 11 knots (steady wind/gusts respectively), and a crosswind component of 17 to 24 knots (steady wind/gusts respectively). According to the Federal Aviation Administration approved Airplane Flight Manual, page 2-210-7, the airplane had a maximum allowable tailwind component ground start limitation of 19 knots and a maximum allowable crosswind component ground start limitation of 19 knots. The engine was removed from the wreckage and examined. The thermally damaged elastomer stator insert assembly in the engine was repaired and the engine was operated in an engine test cell. The engine was started two times using the FADEC from the accident aircraft. The tests verified that both FADEC channels and igniters operated normally. During the test cell engine run a timed acceleration check from ground idle to takeoff power also verified that the engine operated within the allowable specifications. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have prevented normal operations.