- Date
- April 10, 1988, 16:10 local (20:10 UTC)
- Place
- Lakeland, FL
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N82RCFalcon Special S/R
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 10, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880410036529A
- Case key
- 31982
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
The pilot experienced an in flight fire in the exhaust system while performing acrobatic maneuvers at an airshow. The aircraft is equipped with a pump that injects oil into the exhaust system to produce a visible smoke trail when vaporized by the exhaust gases. The pilot failed to turn the pump off while doing an inverted spin. He attributed the fire to the ignition of smoke oil that had accumulated in the exhaust system at the low power settings used in the inverted spin. The fire was visible streaming from the engine back to the empennage. The cockpit filled with smoke and the aft lower fuselage fabric was burned away. The pilot had a brief glimpse of the runway before turning off the fuel and attempting to land. He thought he passed out before the aircraft crashed on the airport.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N82RC
- Reported as
- Falcon Special S/R
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- O-540-2
- Airframe hours
- 160
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- In-Flight
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Rondal R. Cox
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 7, 1988 · 5 hours before
- Airport
- LAL · Lakeland Municipal
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
- 31
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 748 total · 160 in this make and model · 692 as pilot in command · 44 in the last 90 days · 36 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LAL
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.