Incident Overview
A night flight originating from Las Vegas, Nevada, ended in a crash near an airport runway after an inflight cabin fire. The pilot, who held an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate, and his wife had been airborne for approximately 35 minutes and were approaching an airport for landing when the wife reported a cabin fire. The couple had just been married before the flight.
Fire Origin and Progression
The wife stated that the fire originated in the overhead light console, which housed two rheostats and a light switch. The fire began to burn the headliner and the plastic console. Burning plastic dripped onto the occupants' bodies.
Crash and Aftermath
The aircraft crashed out of control near the runway in dirt and was destroyed. The local fire department extinguished the cabin fire after the crash.
Testing and Findings
A duplicate console was tested. When the door post light was shorted, the lighting rheostat in the console reached a temperature in excess of 1,425 degrees Fahrenheit at a circuit load of 6 amps maximum. The circuit is protected by a 10-amp breaker. The overhead cabin plastic material was found to readily burn.