CEN25LA205

On June 11, 2025, about 2145 central daylight time, a Lancair 360 airplane, N77LH, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Fort Stockton, Texas. The airline transport pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot, he had recently purchased the airplane in California, and he was performing a cross-country flight to his home base in Florida. The airplane stopped at the El Paso International Airport (ELP), El Paso, Texas to refuel. The airplane departed from ELP about 1940 mountain daylight time. While enroute to the San Antonio International Airport, San Antonio, Texas, the pilot smelled smoke in the cockpit. The pilot contacted air traffic control and changed his destination airport to the Fort Stockton-Pecos County Airport, Fort Stockton, Texas, due to the emergency. Once the pilot maneuvered the airplane for landing on runway 12, the cockpit was filled with smoke, and flames were emitting from underneath the instrument panel. During the landing, the pilot reported he did not have brake authority, and the airplane departed the runway to the left. The airplane came to rest upright against a barbed wire fence along the airport perimeter. The pilot was able to egress from the airplane without further incident. The fire consumed the engine compartment, part of the fuselage, and the left wing. The wreckage was recovered from the accident site, and it was transported to a secure location for future examination. The experimental airplane was built from a kit in 1999. The composite construction airplane was equipped with a Lycoming Engines O-360-A1A reciprocating engine. The airplane had a condition inspection performed by a mechanic on the airframe and the engine on June 9, 2025. During the inspection, it was noted that the airframe had accumulated 440.4 hours total time, and the engine had accumulated 2,220.9 hours total time (with 911.9 hours since overhaul). The pilot reported that the airplane maintenance records and the historical airplane build records were stored in the baggage compartment and consumed by the fire.