During preflight inspection of the Piper PA-22, 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′ above ground level, a fire started within the engine compartment, and smoke began to enter the cockpit.
He turned the airplane back toward the runway at the airport in Gallatin, Tenn., but lost control as the airplane touched down because his visibility was limited by the smoke.
The occupants got out of the airplane, which was subsequently consumed by fire.
Post-accident 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.
Probable cause: The pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection, which resulted in an inflight fire due to the presence of a bird nest in the engine compartment.
NTSB Identification: ERA16LA183
This May 2016 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
You know, on a Cessna 206, you can barely look inside the engine compartment. 1 tiny door to check the oil and 1 tiny door on top to add oil. BUT, on a Tri-Pacer, you can practically see the entire engine. It almost has a hood, except for about 6” down the middle. No excuse here.
You know,on a Cessna 206, you can barely look inside the engine compartment. 1 tiny door to check the oil and 1 tiny door on top to add oil. BUT, on a Tri-Pacer, you can practically see the entire engine. It almost has a hood, except for about 6” down the middle. No excuse here.
Cowl plugs AND close the cowl flaps if you have them.
I once watched a Gopher snake begin to crawl up the tail spring and into the tailcone of my 185. Hint: Possible mouse nest. I also put a funnel upside down on my engine preheat wire to keep the rodent population out of the warm environment of the engine compartment with it’s tasty wires.
One rainy summer day in Alaska the maintenance folks left my plane outside for a day with no pitot cover. Airspeed indication went to zero after takeoff due to water migration in the pitot system. Try preflighting that one.
Even though my aircraft is in a hangar, we find wasp nests in the wings and mud dauber nests under the cowl. They usually are not a problem, but we remove them to be sure.
So, ‘Spring cleaning’ is very important to ensure the airworthiness of the aircraft.
More ‘stupid pilot tricks’…. it’s Spring and birds love to nest in the engine compartment. That’s why cowl plugs were developed. This ‘pilot in command’ has the authority to remove the cowl to check for nest material, and the responsibility that the aircraft is ‘safe for flight’……no A&P needed.
I flew with an aero club the has a C172XP and the birds made a nest between the cylinders very year, until cowl plugs were used.
I’m glad to hear the all pax are ok, but destroyed a classic Tri-Pacer.!
It is difficult to believe that going flying was so important that this pilot so easily dismissed the glaring indications of a hidden problem. Those baby birds did not fly into the cockpit on their own so there HAS to be a nest hidden somewhere. What if it caused a control jam at a crucial time or as in this case started a fire? The ONLY safe course of action would be to hand it over to his A&P and start opening stuff up until that nest was located. Yes hindsight is 20/20 but hopefully others can take a lesson from this mistake.
I would hope a lesson would be learned from this. All too often though there is always another careless pilot to fill the slot.
It’s surprising that more engines don’t light up from bird or rodent nests. Lots of aircraft are tied down on grass near well occupied critter habitat.
The aero club that I was a member, flew 4 Cessnas, but only one, the T-41C [ a C172xp ], was plagued with nests between the cylinders. The cowl openings were different that the other 3 a/c, and must have been more attractive. That , or they preferred Continental 6 cylinder engines over the 4 cylinder Lycoming’s..!?
The cowl plugs stopped the nesting…..but then, the pilots had to remember to remove them , which wasn’t always the case, even though there is a red flag sticking up above the cowl on each plug. So the line connecting the two plugs was wrapped around the prop. On engine start, the plugs would pull out and fly off….. and sometimes cost the pilot the price of new plugs.