What happened
On the morning of October 23, 2023, a Piper PA-32-300, registered as N216 and N2162X, was involved in a significant fire event at Sandy Point Airport (MYAS) in Abaco, Bahamas. The aircraft had arrived from Grand Bahama International Airport earlier that morning as part of a private flight. After the passengers had disembarked, the pilot prepared the aircraft for a return leg to Grand Bahama.
During the engine start sequence, the pilot noticed smoke emerging from the forward section of the aircraft. This was quickly followed by the appearance of flames near the engine compartment. The pilot immediately evacuated the aircraft and utilized a mobile fire extinguisher provided by the airport to combat the blaze. Despite these efforts, the fire spread rapidly through the airframe.
The investigation
The investigation, which has since been completed, focused on the sequence of events leading to the fire while the aircraft was stationary on the ground. Investigators examined the aircraft's condition following the event and noted that the fuselage was destroyed by the intense heat. While the wings and empennage sustained substantial fire damage, they remained structurally intact, unlike the central fuselage.
Findings
- The fire originated in the engine compartment during the engine start procedure.
- The engine fire resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft's fuselage.
- Weather conditions at the time of the occurrence were within visual meteorological limits and were not a contributing factor to the event.
- There were no injuries reported during the incident.