Accident Overview
On March 30, 2014, at approximately 1415 central daylight time, a Bellanca 8KCAB, registration N11FS, caught fire after landing at Stennis International Airport (HSA) in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The private pilot sustained minor injuries, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The aircraft was operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Gulfport, Mississippi (MS82) about 1315.
Pilot Report
The pilot reported that he was conducting touch-and-go landings on runway 18 in the local traffic pattern. After the 14th touch-and-go landing, he climbed straight ahead over the runway. At about 200 feet above the ground, he suddenly smelled fuel fumes and observed fuel streaming onto the cockpit floor between his feet. The fuel appeared to originate from the header tank. He turned off the magnetos and electrical master switch and landed straight ahead on the runway. After taxiing clear, he observed fire and exited through the cockpit door. Within about a minute, the airplane was engulfed in flames. Airport rescue firefighters responded and extinguished the fire.
Post-Accident Examination
On March 31, 2014, an FAA inspector examined the wreckage at the accident site. The right wing was totally destroyed by fire. The airplane was equipped with a header tank in the fuel system. All lines to and from the header tank were partially or completely burned away. The tank had numerous holes that appeared to result from the fire and heat.
On April 8, 2014, the NTSB Investigator-in-Charge examined the wreckage in the hangar where it was stored. With the pilot present, the header tank was removed and examined. It had significant heat and fire damage with numerous holes in the tank walls. A section of the fuel pickup line (part number 1-10089) with its fitting, and a section of a fuel vent line (part number 7-1414-10) with its fitting, remained attached to the tank but were damaged by heat and fire. All other fuel lines associated with the header tank were completely burned away. The damaged lines and fittings were sent to the NTSB Materials Laboratory for further examination.
On June 3, 2014, the fuel lines and fittings were examined at the NTSB Materials Laboratory. Optical examinations of the two fuel line fractures revealed features consistent with overstress separations while the lines were at elevated temperatures. No indications of fatigue or other preexisting cracking were found.
According to the pilot, who was also the airplane owner, no recent maintenance had been performed in the area of the header tank.