- Date
- September 2, 2008, 18:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Munising, MI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N140NECessna T182T
- Defining event
- Taxi-from runway: Fire/smoke (non-impact)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 22, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20080902846079A
- Case key
- 68992
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 inadequate preflight planning/preparation by the pilot to carry a hazardous material aboard an airplane that resulted in a fire during an after-landing taxi.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot placed a gasoline-powered "weed whip" on the rear passenger seats of the airplane for a personal flight. The pilot smelled a "strong" smell of gasoline as the airplane touched down for landing at the destination airport. During the after-landing taxi, the engine end of the weed whip fell behind the two front seats. The pilot stated that he reached back and placed the weed whip back onto the seats and "something caused it to ignite." The pilot stated that he was charging his cell phone where the weed whip was located. The pilot stated that the smoke was so bad that he pulled the mixture control to idle cutoff and exited the airplane. The pilot was uninjured. The airplane was then consumed by fire.
Factual narrative
The pilot placed a gasoline powered "weed whip" on the rear passenger seats of the airplane for a personal flight. The pilot smelled a "strong" smell of gasoline as the airplane touched down for landing at the destination airport. During the after landing taxi, the engine end of the weed whip fell behind the two front seats. The pilot stated that he reached back and placed the weed whip back onto the seats and "something caused it to ignite." The pilot stated that he was charging his cell phone where the weed whip was located. The pilot stated that the smoke was so bad that he pulled the mixture control to idle cutoff and exited the airplane. The pilot was uninjured. The airplane was then consumed by fire.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N140NE
- Reported as
- Cessna T182T
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- T182-08025
- Engine
- Lycoming 540-AK1A, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Pilot
- Registered owner
- Dale Snooks One On One Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- ACB · Bellaire, MI
- Destination
- 5Y7 · Munising, MI
- Airport
- 5Y7 · Hanley Field, runway 18
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
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 3,381 total · 2,600 in this make and model · 67 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.