Pridmore LANCAIR IV N86PB

Summary

On 28 June 2010 at about 00:00 local time, a Pridmore LANCAIR IV registered N86PB, operated by Pridmore-Brown Julian N, was involved in an accident near Caldwell, Idaho, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 June 2010 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Caldwell, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Caldwell Industrial (KEUL)

Coordinates

43.6417, -116.6356

Aircraft

Pridmore LANCAIR IV

Registration

N86PB

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Pridmore-Brown Julian N

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Caldwell → La Grande

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR10LA319

Nobody was injured.

The failure of maintenance personnel to ensure that a hydraulic line fitting was adequately secured during a conditional inspection, which resulted in a leak and subsequent on-ground fire.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Several minutes after starting the engine, the pilot noticed an odor in the cockpit, which he thought was similar to that of burning plastic. He could hear the hydraulic pump cycle once, which he thought was unusual. He pulled the hydraulic circuit breaker out and within 30 seconds he observed smoke emanating from the engine area. He shut down the airplane and noticed flames at the bottom of the engine cowl. According to the pilot, the last conditional inspection was completed 6 days prior to the accident, and the airplane accumulated 2 flight hours since that inspection. An examination of the firewall revealed that its right side had a white coloration, which turned to a black soot color on the left side, consistent with the fire originating on the right side of the engine. On the right side of the belly area, near the nose landing gear compartment, a red/pink hydraulic fluid stain started and continued down toward the tail. The stain became small beads of pooling liquid at the low point of the belly, indicating a hydraulic leak. Above the stain, on the right side of the engine firewall, were two hydraulic fittings where hoses connected to either side of the nose landing gear actuator. Based on this evidence, it is likely that the fitting on the lower hydraulic line was not properly tightened, which allowed it to back off due to normal engine vibration, resulting in the line loosening during engine start. Pressurized hydraulic fluid then sprayed onto the right exhaust shroud and ignited.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.