- Date
- September 30, 2007, 08:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Taos, NM
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N38765Piper PA-28R-201T
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation administration
- FAA report
- 20070930826409A
- Case key
- 66781
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The unsecured B-nut fitting to the fuel return line which allowed for fuel spillage, an engine fire, and fuel exhaustion that led to the engine's subsequent failure. a factor contributing to the accident was the pilot's intentional wheels up landing in rough, uneven terrain.
Analysis
The pilot had just taken off and was in a climb heading southbound when he noticed a slight fuel smell followed by white smoke coming out of the right side of the dash. The pilot turned back toward the airport. Flames began coming from the right side of the airplane's cowling and then the engine lost power. The pilot performed a wheels up landing in rough terrain. The fire persisted as he evacuated the airplane. The airplane continued to burn until fire had consumed all but the airplane's engine, wing tips and empennage. An examination of the airplane showed a b-nut on the fuel return line had become unscrewed. No other anomalies with the airplane were found.
Factual narrative
On September 30, 2007, approximately 0830 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-28R-201T, N38765, piloted by a private pilot, caught fire during departure from the Taos Regional Airport (SKX), Taos, New Mexico. While attempting to return to the airport, the airplane's engine lost power and the pilot subsequently performed a wheels up landing one mile south of the airport. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The private pilot was not injured. The flight departed Taos at 0815 and was en route to Nogales, Arizona.
The pilot reported that he had taken off from SKX and was in a climb heading southbound when he noticed a slight fuel smell followed by white smoke coming out of the right side of the dash. The pilot said he turned back for the airport. Flames began coming from the right side of the cowling and then the engine lost power. The pilot performed a wheels up landing in rough terrain. The fire persisted as he evacuated the airplane. The airplane continued to burn until fire had consumed all but the airplane's engine, wing tips and empennage.
An examination of the airplane showed a b-nut on the fuel return line was unscrewed. No other anomalies with the airplane were found.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N38765
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28R-201T
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28R-7703270
- Engine
- Lycoming TSIO-360-F, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James R. Grainger
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 2007
- Departed
- SKX · Taos, NM
- Destination
- Nogales, AZ
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
- 66
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,904 total · 294 in this make and model · 1,904 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.38 inHg
- Observed at
- SKX, 1 nm away
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 N38765 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.