William P. Hobby Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Houston, Texas 77061
Monday, June 17, 1996 9:27 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During landing on runway 12L at the William P. Hobby Airport, Houston, Texas, the pilot noticed flames between his feet. He exited the runway to the left and deplaned. Examination of the airplane by the FAA inspector revealed that a high pressure fuel line on the right side of the engine, had a hole burned into it. The fuel line had been improperly installed to within one inch of the exhaust pipe. Further examination revealed that the right main landing gear had been damaged by a 'previous landing,' and an aft engine mount had a break that 'appeared to be old.' The airplane was destroyed by the fire.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The improper installation of the fuel line with insufficient clearance from the exhaust system, resulting in a hole being burned into the fuel line.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/17/1996
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 927
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City HOUSTON
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77061
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport WILLIAM P. HOBBY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID HOU
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 47
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 952 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID HOU
Elevation of weather observation facility 47
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2400
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 12
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 23
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 727
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 17 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1204
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:04AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N41HR
NTSB Number FTW96LA252
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Harmon
Aircraft Model RV-3 ROCKET
Aircraft Series Identifier RV-3 ROCKE
Aircraft Serial Number 006
Certified Max Gross Weight 1113
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 3 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 50
Airframe Hours 729
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ROBERT SCHNEEFLOCK
Aircraft Owner Street Address 204 DUCK COVE
Aircraft Owner City MADISON
Aircraft Owner State MS
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 39110
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code MB0
Departure City MADISON
Departure State MS
Departure Country
Departure Time 800
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code HOU
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 12L
Runway Length 5148
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --