CEN24LA147

The pilot reported that while enroute at 5,500 ft on a night cross-country flight, flames started coming out of the oil access door on the airplane’s cowling. The pilot executed an emergency landing and exited the airplane without further incident or injury. The fire continued to burn, and the airplane was destroyed. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine confirmed evidence of a fire in the engine compartment but its source could not be identified due to extensive thermal damage. The reason for the fire could not be determined.

On April 3, 2024, at 2211 central daylight time, a Bellanca 7KCAB airplane, N8946, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Bluff Dale, Texas. The pilot sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that he was on a night, visual flight rules, cross-country flight, at 5,500 ft, from Brownwood Regional Airport (BWD), Brownwood, Texas, to Granbury Regional Airport (GDJ), Granbury, Texas. The pilot stated that initially he noticed a strange chemical smell but did not see any smoke. He said that the oil access door on the upper right side of the engine cowling popped open and he observed flames coming from the opening. The pilot shut off fuel to the engine and executed an emergency descent. He landed in a field 15 nautical miles southwest of GDJ and exited the airplane, which continued to burn and was destroyed by the fire. Postaccident examination of the airplane confirmed evidence of a centralized fire between the engine and the airplane firewall. All components in that area exhibited significant fire damage. Other areas of the engine compartment had less evidence of fire damage. An annual inspection was completed on the airplane about 11 months before the accident. The airplane had flown about 80 hours between the maintenance and the accident flight.