North American T-28A N9640C

Summary

On 23 August 1995 at about 16:22 local time, a North American T-28A registered N9640C was involved in an accident near Rexburg, Idaho, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 August 1995 at 16:22

Classification

Accident

Location

Rexburg, Idaho, United States

Coordinates

43.7808, -111.7593

Aircraft

North American T-28A

Registration

N9640C

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA95LA192

2 people were seriously injured.

fatigue failure of the main hydraulic line and a resulting hydraulic fluid fire. Lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing contributed to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during climbout he began to smell smoke and turned back toward the airport. By the time he was headed back toward the airport, the cockpit was full of smoke. When he opened the canopy to get rid of the smoke, fire entered the cockpit, burning his face and hands. He secured the engine and dove toward a nearby field, where he made a gear-up forced landing. The airplane struck a ditch, broke apart, flipped onto its back and slid to a stop. A report of the wreckage examination described a 'suspicious failure' of the main hydraulic line, which 'appears to be of fatigue origin.' It was further noted that the aircraft hydraulic fluid is flammable, that 'the burn pattern was primarily exterior to the engine in the areas adjacent to the exhaust pipes', and that the 4.25-gallon hydraulic reservoir was empty.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.