Glacier Park International Arp Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Kalispell, Montana 59912
Wednesday, April 20, 2005 15:17 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot lowered the landing gear on a 3.5 mile extended left base. He said that he was cleared to land by air traffic control (ATC). He checked the landing gear down indication lights, and when he looked up again, black smoke was coming from the dash. He looked down at the control pedestal and saw smoke and fire; he said black smoke immediately eliminated outside visibility. The pilot said that the passenger reported seeing the runway out his open window. The pilot landed the airplane, which bounced, and on the second touchdown the front nose gear collapsed and the airplane skidded to a stop. He and the passenger exited the airplane, which subsequently was consumed by the ensuing fire. The airplane's maintenance records indicated that the following maintenance had been done since the beginning of the year: 1. On January 28, 2005, the engine was removed and a remanufactured engine installed. 2. On March 18, 2005, an annual inspection was completed. 3. On March 30, 2005, an inverter (located up/behind the instrument panel) was replaced. 4. On April 11, 2005, the altimeter was replaced with an overhauled one. Postaccident investigation of the landing gear hydraulic pump (located up/behind the instrument panel) and its associated tubular plumbing found several fractures and failures. A NTSB metallurgist examined the hydraulic lines and found no evidence of preexisting cracking or fractures; using a scanning electron microscope, he identified typical intergranular features with rounded edges, which are indicative of high temperature overstress failures. A NTSB fire expert examined the main wire bundle from under the instrument panel and said that due to the extent of fire damage, an ignition source for the fire could not be determined.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

An airborne fire which was fueled by leaking hydraulic fluid (the ignition source for the fire was undetermined) from the landing gear hydraulic system located under the cockpit instrument panel due to inadequate maintenance from other maintenance personnel. Contributing factors were the hydraulic fluid and the pilot's hard landing due the airplane's control not being possible subsequent to the loss of external visibility caused by smoke in the cockpit.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/20/2005
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1517
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Kalispell
Event State MONTANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 59912
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 481841N
Event Location Longitude 1141518W
Event Location Airport Glacier Park International Arp
Event Location Nearest Airport ID FCA
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 2977
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1555 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID GPI
Elevation of weather observation facility 2977
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 11000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 8000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 70
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.04
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 19277
NTSB Notification Source RAA NW ROC
NTSB Notification Date Apr 20 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1530
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Feb 28 2006 12:35PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Helena, MT

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2AK
NTSB Number SEA05LA084
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model T210N
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 21064861
Certified Max Gross Weight 4000
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 25
Airframe Hours 4787
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Felts Field Aviation Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. Box 11877
Aircraft Owner City Spokane
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99211
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 Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code SFF
Departure City Spokane
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1330
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code GPI
Destination City Kalispell
Destination State WA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - base leg/base to final
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 15 2005 5:43PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 02
Runway Length 8003
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --