Richard Lloyd Jones Jr. Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Tulsa, Oklahoma 74132
Tuesady, September 28, 2010 10:38 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the certified flight instructor (CFI), the landing gear was lowered once during the instructional flight while practicing a slow flight maneuver. When the pilots returned to the airport and lowered the landing gear in preparation for landing, flames erupted from under the instrument panel and the carpet on the floor caught fire. The pilots declared an emergency before the radio failed. They pulled the mixture control to the idle cutoff position, but the fuel selector could not be turned off due to the flames. The cabin filled with smoke, the instruments were unreadable, and the pilots had difficulty breathing. The CFI opened his (left) door, causing the airplane to yaw to the left, and he used right rudder to compensate, while the rudder pedals were engulfed in flames. In the ensuing forced landing, the instructor was able to avoid power lines but was unable to clear a fence. The airplane struck the fence and came to a stop suddenly. Examination of the airplane revealed that the terminal lug on the hydraulic pump was improperly covered and had shorted. Additionally, the installation procedures for the hydraulic pump did not provide clear guidance on the proper method to cap the terminal lug.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A shorted terminal lug on the landing gear hydraulic pump which resulted in a cabin fire. Contributing to the accident was the lack of clear installation procedures for the hydraulic pump.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/28/2010
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1038
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Tulsa
Event State OKLAHOMA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 74132
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 360223N
Event Location Longitude 0955905W
Event Location Airport Richard Lloyd Jones Jr.
Event Location Nearest Airport ID RVS
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 2
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 638
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1053 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID RVS
Elevation of weather observation facility 638
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 2
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
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) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 20
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) 29.92
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KRVS 281453Z 02008KT 10SM CLR 20/13 A2992 RM
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 28039
NTSB Notification Source FAA ASW ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 19 2011 2:00PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5145U
NTSB Number CEN10LA572
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 172RG
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 172RG0258
Certified Max Gross Weight 2650
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 2
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 2
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 3 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 24
Airframe Hours 15026
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Spartan Aviation Industries, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 8820 E. Pine St.
Aircraft Owner City Tulsa
Aircraft Owner State OK
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 74115-5802
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Spartan Aviation Industries, Inc.
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 8820 E. Pine St.
Operator City Tulsa
Operator State OK
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 74115-5802
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code RVS
Departure City Tulsa
Departure State OK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 920
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code RVS
Destination City Tulsa
Destination State OK
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 4 2011 9:16AM
User who most recently changed record scoa
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --