Short Bros SHORTS SD3-60 N617FB

Summary

On 17 May 2012 at about 12:15 local time, a Short Bros SHORTS SD3-60 registered N617FB, operated by ACC Integrated Services Inc, was involved in an accident near Houston, Texas, United States. 2 people were 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

17 May 2012 at 12:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Houston, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Geotge Bush International (IAH)

Coordinates

29.9853, -95.3469

Aircraft

Short Bros SHORTS SD3-60

Registration

N617FB

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

ACC Integrated Services Inc

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Houston → Austin

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN12LA335

Nobody was injured.

The pilots’ improper decision to burn fuel during the taxi by operating the engines at a higher-than-normal power setting and using the wheel brakes to control taxi speed, which resulted in a wheel fire.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilots reported that the cargo airplane was about 60 pounds over its maximum takeoff weight. Because their taxi to the assigned runway was long, they decided to reduce weight by using higher-than-normal engine power settings to burn fuel before takeoff while using the wheel brakes to control the airplane’s speed while taxiing. During the taxi, a fire ignited in the right wheel housing. The pilots brought the airplane to a stop on the taxiway, evacuated, and attempted to extinguish the fire with two handheld fire extinguishers. Airport firefighting personnel arrived on scene and extinguished the fire using foam suppressant. Although the fire damage was extensive, postaccident examination of the airplane did not show evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures with the wheel and brake system that could have caused the fire. The right and left main landing gear tires deflated when the fusible plugs in the wheels blew due to overheating. The fusible plugs are designed to “fail” if the wheels overheat, and those plugs functioned as designed. The pilots stated that they had been trained to not ride the brakes while taxiing. However, the captain stated that he did not realize that he was in danger of blowing the tires much less causing a fire, otherwise he would not have attempted to bum off excess fuel while taxiing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.