Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Langlade County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Antigo, Wisconsin 54409
Saturday, July 14, 2001 13:00 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The motorglider was destroyed by fire after an emergency landing. After takeoff, the aircraft was passing through 1,000 feet agl, when the pilot heard a "loud pop" and smoke started coming into the cockpit. The engine started running rough and the pilot shut down the engine and executed an emergency landing. The fire consumed the wing attachment area and the cockpit forward of the engine compartment within five minutes of the initial engine failure. The examination of the wreckage revealed the cockpit, engine compartment, and inner wing were destroyed by fire. Only the tail section and about 10 feet of each outer wing panel remained intact. The fire in the engine containment area destroyed all non-metallic components. The left side of the engine sustained extensive heat damage resulting in the melting of the left carburetor, the left intake manifold, the left carburetor tray, and the engine alternator. The stainless steel firewall shroud in front, aft, and on top of the engine was found in place. The side cowlings that cover the engine compartment are made of composite materials and coated with fire retardant-not fire proof-paint. The side cowlings were consumed by fire. The inspection of the aircraft did not reveal what initiated the loss of engine power and subsequent in-flight fire. The total airframe time was 50 total hours and the engine time was 27 hours. An examination of a new production Stemme S10-VT motorglider revealed the following: 1) The forward and aft firewalls contained openings which did not incorporate fireproof grommets, bushings, or firewall fittings. 2) Rubber fuel lines and fittings within the engine compartment were not sealed or clamped to prevent exposure to engine fires. Rubber fuel lines and plastic fuel filters were mounted against the forward side of the engine firewall. 3) The carburetors and other associated fuel system components were located directly over unprotected exhaust system components. 4) The forward, top, and aft sides of the Stemme S10-VT engine compartment are made of 0.040-inch-thick stainless steel sheet metal. The sides and bottom of the engine compartment are made of composite material. The Stemme S10-VT is manufactured in Germany and certified in accordance with the JAR-22, Joint Airworthiness Requirements for Sailplanes and Powered Sailplanes, effective through Change 4, including 22.375 of Amendment 22/90/1. The Type Certificate No. G06CE, for the Stemme S10-VT, was issued by the FAA on September 22, 1997. The FAA is responsible for certifying the aircraft in the United States.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The cause of the loss of engine power and in-flight fire was undetermined.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/14/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1300 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Antigo |
| Event State | WISCONSIN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 54409 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | Langlade County Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | AIG |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 0 |
| Airport Elevation | 1521 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1254 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 240 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | AUW |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1201 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 26 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 8500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 31 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 12 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 260 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 15 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.05 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 13283 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 14 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 2145 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 13 2003 12:26PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Milwaukee FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N502SC |
| NTSB Number | CHI01LA216 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | In-flight |
| Aircraft Explosion | In-flight |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Stemme |
| Aircraft Model | S10-VT |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 0-56 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1874 |
| Aircraft Category | Glider |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | -- |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 40 |
| Airframe Hours | 40 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Stuart Cornew |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 66 Abbotsford Rd |
| Aircraft Owner City | Winnetka |
| Aircraft Owner State | IL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 60093 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| 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? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | AIG |
| Departure City | Antigo |
| Departure State | WI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1255 |
| Departure Time Zone | UTC |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | AIG |
| Destination City | Antigo |
| Destination State | WI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Standing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | Yes |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 25 2003 9:03AM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 8 |
| Runway Length | 3400 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |