- Date
- May 16, 1982, 13:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Joilet, IL
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3723ZPiper PA-22
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 16, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820516015889A
- Case key
- 71201
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
When the aircraft was about 1 1/2 miles from the destination, a fire started on the left side of the floorboard against the firewall. The pilot turned off the electrical system, and before landing, shut off the fuel selector. After landing, the occupants egressed and the plane continued to burn until fire department personnel arrived and applied dry chemicals. During an investigation, a fuel line was found with areas of thinning. This line was routed from the fire wall to the fuel shutoff valve on the left side o the cabin. This area had been exposed to high heat during the fire. A possible source of ignition was a power supply for the radio, which was attached to the fire wall under the instrument panel just above the fuel line. An internal examination of the power supply unit showed an area of intensive heat around the relay assembly. According to an engineering report, the wall thinning of the fuel line (made from aluminum alloy 3003) was a result of loss of material at the inner surface
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3723Z
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-7597
- Airframe hours
- 1,825
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-B2B, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- Both
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Steve S. Matter
- Registered owner
- Steve S. Matter
- Departed
- Dekalb, IL
- Destination
- Joilet, IL
- Airport
- JOT · Joilet, runway 22, 3,452 × 125 ft, grass/turf
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
- 26
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Invalid Medical for flight
- Flight hours
- 112 total · 112 in this make and model · 84 as pilot in command · 16 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Temperature
- 176 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N3723Z · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.