Piper PA-28-161 N613FT

Summary

On 17 March 2009 at about 01:30 local time, a Piper PA-28-161 registered N613FT, operated by Florida Institute of Technology, was involved in an accident near Sanford, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 March 2009 at 01:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Sanford, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Orlando Sanford International (SFB)

Coordinates

28.7767, -81.2356

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-161

Registration

N613FT

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Florida Institute of Technology

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Melbourne → Sanford

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA09LA201

Nobody was injured.

An engine air induction explosion for an undetermined reason during repeated engine start attempts.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot was making a stop-and-go landing and used maximum wheel and aerodynamic braking to stop the airplane. After coming to a stop, both pilots realized that the engine had stopped running. After calling tower personnel and advising them of the situation, the instructor attempted to re-start the engine. Four total re-start attempts were made. After the fourth attempt, the pilots noticed smoke and flames coming from the engine compartment. The instructor moved the mixture control to idle cut-off, and exited the airplane. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the airplane and reported fire damage to the engine and airframe, including firewall deformation. The inspector stated that the fire appeared to originate in the induction system air box. In addition, damage to the air box was consistent with a fuel-air explosion. During the course of the investigation the source of the original loss of power was not identified, nor was it definitively proven how the air box was damaged; however, flooding of the engine during repeated attempts to start the engine could have played a role in the accident. The operator's maintenance personnel reported that the airplane did not have a history of engine problems.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.