Piper PA 22 N5823Z

Summary

On 13 May 2016 at about 19:30 local time, a Piper PA 22 registered N5823Z, operated by Harms Gregory F, was involved in an accident near Gallatin, Tennessee, United States. 3 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

13 May 2016 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Gallatin, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Sumner County Rgnl (M33)

Coordinates

36.3733, -86.4083

Aircraft

Piper PA 22

Registration

N5823Z

Category

Airplane

Year built

1963

Engines

1

Operator

Harms Gregory F

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gallatin → Gallatin

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA16LA183

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection, which resulted in an inflight fire due to the presence of a bird nest in the engine compartment.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During preflight inspection of the airplane, the pilot discovered three baby birds in the cockpit. After removing the birds, he continued his preflight inspection, looking for a nest. He noticed that the rag normally used to cover one of the elevator openings was missing, but he did not find a nest inside. Immediately after takeoff, about 100 ft above ground level, a fire started within the engine compartment, and smoke began to enter the cockpit. The pilot turned the airplane back toward the runway, but lost control as the airplane touched down because his visibility was limited by the smoke. The occupants egressed the airplane, which was subsequently consumed by fire. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed remnants of a bird nest between the exhaust manifold and the engine firewall, which was the likely origin of the fire.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.