Guntersville Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Guntersville, Alabama 35976
Tuesady, January 23, 2007 13:45 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, while taxiing following a normal landing he smelled fiberglass and then observed smoke and fire coming from the engine cowling. He immediately stopped the airplane, and egressed. He said the airplane continued to burn. Examination of the airplane by an FAA Inspector found the airplane partially consumed by fire. Examination of the engine revealed that the fuel line from the fuel servo to the flow divider had melted from the connection at the fuel servo to the cylinder baffling. The hose was still connected to the flow divider and retained torque on the fitting. The hose was removed and examination provided that the approximately half of its original length had been burnt away or melted. Examination revealed that the hose was of non-aviation automotive origin and identified as SAE. The construction of the hose was of plastic with a vinyl outer coating. Examination of the fuel line fitting still attached to the fuel servo revealed threads in the socket were clean with no residual hose material present in the threads. There was a light amount of melted plastic on the outer end of the socket. The hose had not been properly assembled, thus allowing fuel to escape into the engine compartment.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Failure of an unapproved automotive fuel line installed by the owner/pilot mechanic which resulted in an engine fire during taxi after landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/23/2007
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1345
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Guntersville
Event State ALABAMA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 35976
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 342335N
Event Location Longitude 0861608W
Event Location Airport Guntersville Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 8A1
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 615
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1353 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 120
Weather Observation Facility ID HSV
Elevation of weather observation facility 629
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 20
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) 3
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.13
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23297
NTSB Notification Source FAA Com Center
NTSB Notification Date Jan 23 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 31 2008 11:52AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Birmingham FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N117BG
NTSB Number ATL07LA034
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire Ground and In-flight
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Greenhaw, William
Aircraft Model Lancair 360
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number BG-L-0001
Certified Max Gross Weight 1900
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 19
Airframe Hours 19
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name William Otto Greenhaw
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2031 Rescue Rd
Aircraft Owner City Union Grove
Aircraft Owner State AL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 35175
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) Flight Test
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 8A1
Departure City Guntersville
Departure State AL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1300
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 8A1
Destination City Guntersville
Destination State AL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Taxi - from landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 19 2008 3:14PM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 03
Runway Length 3368
Runway Width 95
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --