NTSB Preliminary Report Indicates His Airplane Did Not Catch Fire Until AFTER He Landed Safely

Here's an instance where the pilot of a homebuilt utility airplane seems to have done everything right when he smelled fuel in the cockpit, and lost the aircraft anyway. The good news is the Arizona-based builder-pilot was able to safely land his airplane off-airport and get clear. But he was not able to stop the fire that broke out later and destroyed his aircraft. In this case, the second apparent fuel issue to crop up with the aircraft was fatal to the Murphy Moose.

Murphy Moose File Photo Radial Engine

NTSB Identification: WPR11FA258
 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, June 12, 2011 in Aguila, AZ
Aircraft: Bowley Murphy, registration: N189SB
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On June 12, 2011, about 0630 mountain standard time, an experimental amateur-built Murphy Moose, N189SB, was consumed by fire following a forced off-airport landing about 11 miles east of Aguila, Arizona. The owner-pilot was not injured. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the flight.

The pilot based the airplane at Phoenix Deer Valley Airport (DVT) Phoenix, Arizona, and departed DVT about 0600 to practice landings and takeoffs on unprepared airstrips about 45 miles to the northwest. Shortly before 0630, when the airplane was circling at an altitude of about 1,400 feet above ground level, the engine started to lose power. The pilot increased the throttle setting, which temporarily seemed to help, but then the engine began to surge, and the pilot smelled fuel. He checked the cockpit for signs of fuel, found none, and then turned the airplane to head for Wickenburg Municipal Airport (E25). The engine continued to lose power, and the airplane began to lose altitude, so the pilot decided to conduct a precautionary landing on a nearby highway. While on a left base traffic pattern leg for the landing on the highway, the engine lost power. Since he did not believe he could reach the highway, the pilot opted to land on the desert terrain. The touchdown and rollout were uneventful; the airplane was undamaged, and the pilot was uninjured. After the pilot secured the airplane, he exited, and noticed fuel dripping from the engine compartment. A fire erupted inside the engine compartment, and the pilot was unable to limit or extinguish the fire.

According to FAA information, the airplane was manufactured by the pilot in 2006. According to the pilot, the airplane was equipped with a fuel-injected Chevrolet Corvette LS6 engine that utilized a "high pressure" fuel system. The pilot stated that all fuel lines forward of the firewall were fire-sleeved. FAA-provided information,which documented a similar event in September 2006, involving the same pilot and the same airplane. The pilot was taxiing at DVT when a fire erupted in the engine compartment; the cause was attributed to a fuel line that became disconnected, and sprayed fuel onto the hot engine.

According to the pilot, he held a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land rating. He reported a total flight experience of 2,000 hours, including 405 hours in the accident airplane make and model. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued in January 2011, and his most recent flight review was completed in February 2010.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov