Richmond International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Richmond, Virginia 23250
Wednesday, April 25, 2007 14:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was taxiing after refueling, when a fire began in the vicinity of the right main landing gear. The pilot shut down the engine, and the occupants exited the airplane. An annual inspection had been completed on the airplane the previous day, and heavy-duty brakes were installed. As part of the installation, a shim insulator and a main gear axel spacer needed to be installed; however, both were missing, which resulted in a frictional build-up of heat during the taxi.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The improper installation of the right brake assembly by maintenance personnel.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/25/2007
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Richmond
Event State VIRGINIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 23250
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 373019N
Event Location Longitude 0771911W
Event Location Airport Richmond International
Event Location Nearest Airport ID RIC
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 167
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1345 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID RIC
Elevation of weather observation facility 167
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 250
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 70
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) 30
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.89
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23863
NTSB Notification Source RIC FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Apr 26 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 30 2008 11:48AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Richmond

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N679DM
NTSB Number NYC07LA104
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
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-32-300
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 32-7940244
Certified Max Gross Weight 3400
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 Apr 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 2
Airframe Hours 4804
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Willowwind Aviation. LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Ridgefield
Aircraft Owner State CT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 06877
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Jean McKeever
Operator Same as Owner? No
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code RIC
Departure City Richmond
Departure State VA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code SAV
Destination City Savannah
Destination State FL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Taxi
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 29 2008 3:25PM
User who most recently changed record grer
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --