Accident Details
On May 31, 2010, at approximately 2200 central daylight time, a Piper PA-22-135, registration N1821P, was destroyed when it caught fire during engine start at Wellington Municipal Airport (EGT) in Wellington, Kansas. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot. The flight, conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, was personal in nature and operated without a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
The flight had originated at Cook Airfield, Inc. (K50) in Derby, Kansas, around 2115. According to the pilot, they made two touch-and-go landings at Wellington before the incident.
The pilot reported that after applying power for takeoff, the airplane would not accelerate. He stopped the airplane on the runway, and the engine quit. He then used the primer and attempted to restart the engine. His passenger noticed a fire under the instrument panel, and both occupants evacuated the airplane. The pilot sustained minor injuries; the passenger was uninjured.
Pilot Information
The pilot refused to complete NTSB Form 6120.1/2, the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot held a student pilot certificate that expired in 2004 and did not possess a valid FAA medical certificate. The pilot stated he had approximately 170 hours of total flight time, most of which was in the Piper PA-22-135.
Fire Investigation
Fire inspectors from the City of Wellington, Kansas, examined the airplane but were unable to determine either the origin or cause of the fire. It was noted that the most intense portion of the fire was in the cabin area.