Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Stafford Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Stafford, Virginia 22406
Monday, August 11, 2008 8:39 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was equipped with a dual battery system. After takeoff the pilot turned on the standby battery switch to charge the standby battery. He smelled smoke which became “very heavy and thick.” After landing, he opened the door and the smoke evacuated. He observed "billowing clouds of black and gray acrid smoke," toward the rear of the airplane. After opening the baggage compartment door, and removing the compartment floor, the pilot discharged a fire extinguisher into the area of the standby battery. He observed a flame, and discharged the fire extinguisher again. He then observed a red glow in the battery box. During construction of the airplane, the pilot had coated the inside of the battery box with room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone. Examination revealed, remnants of a charred wood block (a combustible organic material), and the RTV silicone which had charred, melted, and adhered to the top of the standby battery and its partially melted vent caps. Holes with charring along the upper edge of one side of the battery case were evident where the battery outgassed since its vents caps were blocked. Lead acid batteries must be protected from overcharging and sources of ignition, as hydrogen gas can explode when ignited. Sulfuric acid in contact with combustible and/or organic materials can cause fire or explosion. The airplane’s voltage regulators were mounted in the engine compartment. Their cases were metal, they were rectangular in shape, and a plastic terminal strip protruded from a slot in the case on one side. The regulators were not potted, the internal circuit board was not conformally coated, and no weather seal existed between the plastic terminal strip and the case. Water staining and evidence of arcing were present on the inside of the standby regulator. The manufacturer recommended the regulators be installed in a location that would protect them from heat, vibration, and water on the pilot side of the firewall, or inside the cabin. The pilot was aware of the recommendation, but thought that the heat in the airplane would be worse in the cockpit than in the engine compartment. He also believed the regulators were "sealed in Bakelite," and it would provide "ease of access" to mount them on the firewall.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's decision to install voltage regulators in the engine compartment where they were susceptible to water intrusion, which resulted in a malfunction of the standby electrical system's voltage regulator and a subsequent in-flight fire.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/11/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 839 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Stafford |
| Event State | VIRGINIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 22406 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 382353N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0772720W |
| Event Location Airport | Stafford Regional |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | RMN |
| 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 | 211 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 840 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | RMN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 211 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 20 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 16 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 310 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 26729 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Dulles FSDO |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 16 2008 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 24 2010 3:31PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Dulles, VA |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N731SJ |
| NTSB Number | NYC08FA292 |
| 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 | Steven A. Jones |
| Aircraft Model | Lancair IV P |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | LIV-575 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3700 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 28 2007 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 96 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Steven A. Jones |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Stafford |
| Aircraft Owner State | VA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 22554 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Ralph L. Ragsdale |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Dumfries |
| Operator State | VA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 22026 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | RMN |
| Departure City | Stafford |
| Departure State | VA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 836 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | RMN |
| Destination City | Stafford |
| Destination State | VA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 24 2010 3:31PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 33 |
| Runway Length | 5000 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |