- Date
- September 27, 1987, 16:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Houston, TX
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N9296WPiper PA-28-235
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 26, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870927083189A
- Case key
- 22281
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
Plt executed an emergency landing into trees after he experienced an inflight fire and eng failure shortly after t/o. the lndg in the trees was executed after the plt decided that he could not make it to a clear area. Investigation revealed that the fire had initiated in the area of the muffler and carburetor. Examination of the muffler revealed that it had wrinkled and cracked as a result of severe oxidation and normal heat expansion. Analysis of the exhaust deposits on the crack surfaces and the exterior skin of the muffler indicated that the muffler had been cracked for some time prior to the accident. The acft had received an annual 278 hrs prior to the accident, but had not been inspected for the 3 yrs prior to the last inspection. There were no records showing where the muffler had ever been overhauled or replaced during the acft's 2,650 hr history. Mfgr recommends muffler replacement every 1,000 hrs.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9296W
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-235
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-10973
- Airframe hours
- 4,345
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-B4B5, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- Both
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- James Perdue
- Registered owner
- James C. Perdue
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 1, 1987 · 278 hours before
- Departed
- T86
- Destination
- AAP
- Airport
- T86 · West Houston, runway 15, 4,000 × 50 ft, asphalt
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
- 62
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 507 total · 233 in this make and model · 453 as pilot in command · 103 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DWH, 25 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.