Pilot Debrief

PIPER PA28 151 near St. Augustine, FL — 2016-02-22

Final reportERA16LA119
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Date
2016-02-22
Location
St. Augustine, FL, USA
Airport
SGJ
Aircraft
PIPER PA28 151
Registration
N41618
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Taxi

Probable cause

The flight instructor's overpriming of the engine during start, which resulted in a carburetor fire. Contributing to the severity of accident was the flight instructor's failure to follow the Pilot Operating Handbook's engine fire during start emergency procedures.

NTSB narrative

According to the flight instructor, the airplane's engine stopped producing power during taxi immediately after landing. He attempted to restart the engine, but it caught fire. He stopped the airplane, and both the instructor and the student egressed, but they made no attempt to extinguish the fire because there was no fire extinguisher on board the airplane. Although the fire was eventually extinguished by first responders, it substantially damaged the airplane. Review of the Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH) revealed that engine fires during start were usually due to overpriming and that the first attempt to extinguish the fire should be to try to start the engine and draw the excess fuel back into the induction system. It is likely the flight instructor overprimed the engine, which resulted in an engine fire, and then failed to follow the POH procedure to extinguish the fire. Due to the instructor's failure to attempt to remediate the problem, the fire was not extinguished in a timely manner.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Engine power loss
First missed decision gate
Failure to install a fire extinguisher in the airplane before the flight.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 5 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents5

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