Piper PA-28-151 N7845C

Summary

On 27 April 1996 at about 19:20 local time, a Piper PA-28-151 registered N7845C, operated by James Kinkaid, was involved in an accident near Vera, Oklahoma, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 April 1996 at 19:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Vera, Oklahoma, United States

Coordinates

36.4492, -95.8805

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-151

Registration

N7845C

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

James Kinkaid

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Siloam Springs → Ponca City

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW96FA183

4 people died.

improper installation by unknown person(s) of incorrect exhaust system clamps, which led to an exhaust system disconnect and a subsequent engine compartment fire.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was on a two-leg cross-country instructional flight. Shortly after taking off on the second leg, an FAA FSS facility informed the pilots of a flight precaution for moderate to occasionally severe turbulence from the surface to 14,000 feet. After about 50 minutes of flight, the airplane crashed. There was evidence that the airplane crashed during an uncontrolled descent. Just before impact, a witness saw the airplane flying 'just above the tree tops' approximately one mile from the accident site. Witnesses near the crash site reported seeing 'white smoke and orange flame' coming from the airplane before impact. Examination of the wreckage revealed that incorrect exhaust system clamps had been used to attach the muffler to the right (#1 and #3) exhaust stacks. The clamps were identified as automotive types. There was evidence of an exhaust stack separation from the muffler and that exhaust gasses had entered the area around the carburetor fuel supply line. There also was evidence that an in-flight fire had burned through the lower left portion of the engine cowling, and an adjacent hole had been burned through the engine fire wall to the cabin area.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.