Cleveland Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Cleveland, Texas 77327
Thursday, May 27, 2004 15:56 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The 2,919-hour airline transport rated pilot stated that the airplane was climbing through an altitude of 5,500 feet mean sea level (msl) when he heard a "pop" and started to smell something "funny," but there was no visible smoke. He elected to go to the nearest airport and land, and noticed that his push-to-talk button was no longer operative. The pilot set code 7700 in the transponder and began a descent. During the descent, the cockpit began to fill with an "acrid black" smoke, and he saw flames through an opening in the instrument panel. The pilot attempted to suppress the fire with a hand-held fire extinguisher; however, he was unsuccessful. The pilot elected to execute an emergency landing in a field, collided with a barbed wire fence, and the airplane was then consumed by fire. Examination of the airplane's electrical system revealed that the main battery cable that ran between the main power relay and the main power bus was severed approximately two inches from the main bus. There was beading and localized melting on both ends. Under magnification, the damaged areas had an eroded appearance and there was some evidence of pitting. This type of damage is indicative of an electrical arcing event, which most likely ignited the insulation surrounding the main power wiring assembly and spread to other combustible items in the area. The initiating event for the arc could not be determined.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The in-flight fire that resulted from an electrical arc in the main battery cable near the main power bus. The cause of the arcing event could not be determined.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/27/2004
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1556
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Cleveland
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77327
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator --
On Ground Collision occurred ? --
Event Location Latitude 203320N
Event Location Longitude 0951940W
Event Location Airport Cleveland Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 6R3
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 150
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 225
Weather Observation Facility ID IAH
Elevation of weather observation facility 97
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 28
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 5000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 33
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 17
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.82
Density Altitude (feet) 2606
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17563
NTSB Notification Source ASW ROC
NTSB Notification Date May 27 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1750
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 28 2005 2:59PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Houston FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2948S
NTSB Number FTW04LA142
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire In-flight
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-34-200T
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 34-7970394
Certified Max Gross Weight 4200
Aircraft Category Airplane
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 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 7 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 15
Airframe Hours 1950
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Michael E. Buoy
Aircraft Owner Street Address 774 ACR 147
Aircraft Owner City Palestine
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 75801
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 No
Departure Airport Code LVJ
Departure City Pearland
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1530
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code PSN
Destination City Palestine
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Climb - to cruise
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record --
User who most recently changed record --
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --