St Clair LANCAIR 360 N123ST

Summary

On 12 February 2013 at about 19:30 local time, a St Clair LANCAIR 360 registered N123ST was involved in an accident near Williams, California, 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

12 February 2013 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Williams, California, United States

Nearest airport

Ukiah (UKI)

Coordinates

39.1506, -122.2175

Aircraft

St Clair LANCAIR 360

Registration

N123ST

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ukiah → Minden-Tahoe

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR13LA122

2 people were seriously injured.

An in-flight fire due to an electrical short circuit.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Having leveled off at cruise altitude, the passenger began to smell an electrical burning odor in the experimental airplane's cabin. Smoke then began to stream from the lower center console to the right of the pilot’s footwell. The passenger attempted to locate the source of the smoke while the pilot initiated an emergency descent. Shortly before landing, the footwell became engulfed in flames. During the landing flare, the airplane struck a group of trees and collided with a berm. The majority of the airplane was consumed by fire; however, examination of the electrical wiring revealed arcing damage to one of the primary electrical supply lines in the area where the passenger reported the first traces of smoke. The wire connected the master solenoid to the airplane’s main system bus. It is most likely that the wire’s insulation had become compromised, leading to its electrical conductor coming into contact with a metallic airframe component, resulting in a short circuit and fire. The pilot shut off the master solenoid during the descent, which would have halted the short circuit; but by then the fire had most likely already spread, possibly igniting the fuel supply components in that area. The fact that the master solenoid was off also negated the possibility that the short circuit occurred during the ground impact sequence. The airplane’s construction consisted of automotive electrical wire and household PVC tubing for electrical conduit. Additionally, the battery and associated master solenoid wiring had been relocated three times since the airplane’s completion; however, it could not be determined if this construction or modification caused or contributed to the short circuit.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.