Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Luis Munoz Marin International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00979
Sunday, April 26, 2009 4:15 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
During taxi to a runway, the instrument panel and cockpit floor erupted in flames. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the majority of the wires contained inside the main junction box had very little damage except for two wires that had insulation missing. The damage appeared to be associated with the routing of the two wires. Both wires were connected to the battery relay and ran through wires in and around the exposed terminal studs. Heat damage was noted on the insulation of wires and other components that were in contact with the exposed wires. The wires ran from the battery relay to the forward section of the cockpit, where the fire started. Due to the fire damage that consumed the cockpit, the examination was unable to determine what system the wires were associated with. Further examination revealed that the fuel pressure was a direct indicating system. Fuel traveled directly to the instruments in the cockpit via rigid aluminum lines routed on the right lower side of the fuselage, where more severe fire damage was noted. Review of maintenance records did not reveal any evidence of the fuel pressure indicating system lines and hoses having ever been replaced; however, they were only required to be replaced on an as-needed basis. The electrical system, instrument lines, and hoses through the nose compartment were required to be inspected on a Phase D inspection; the airplane's last Phase D inspection was completed about 9 months prior to the accident and the airplane had accrued 313.1 hours of operation since that inspection.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Worn electrical wires and a fuel pressure indicating system hose, which resulted in a ground fire during taxi.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/26/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 415 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | San Juan |
| Event State | PUERTO RICO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 00979 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 182622N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0660007W |
| Event Location Airport | Luis Munoz Marin International |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | TJSJ |
| 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 | 9 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 456 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TJSJ |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 9 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 3600 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| 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) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 21 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 100 |
| 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) | 30.04 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 25657 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 26 2009 2:20PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N136FS |
| NTSB Number | ERA09LA266 |
| 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 | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | DOUGLAS |
| Aircraft Model | DC3 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 24405 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 26900 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | 3 |
| Passenger Seats | 0 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 5 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | AAIP |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 22 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 40 |
| Airframe Hours | 19952 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Four Star Aviation Inc |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Saint Thomas |
| Aircraft Owner State | VI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 00802 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Four Star Aviation Inc |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Saint Thomas |
| Operator State | VI |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 00802 |
| Operator Code | U4RA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | U4RA542L |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | Non-scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Cargo |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | TJSJ |
| Departure City | San Juan |
| Departure State | PR |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 428 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | TIST |
| Destination City | Charlotte Amali |
| Destination State | VI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 26 2009 2:17PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |