Introduction
On November 22, 2000, a Jodel D-140-E, registration EC-BSF, was destroyed by a fire that occurred during taxi at Alicante Airport. The aircraft was being operated for an aerial photography flight with a commercial pilot and a photographer on board. Both occupants evacuated without injury.
Flight Information
The aircraft had been parked on the airport apron. At approximately 10:00 UTC, the engine was started and taxi clearance was requested. After obtaining permission, the airplane began moving toward the holding point of taxiway C-6. While at the holding point, a fire broke out on the aircraft.
Accident Sequence
According to the pilot's statement, after receiving taxi clearance, he released the parking brake, applied power, and immediately used the toe brakes. He then taxied toward the holding point for runway 28. Taxi speed was normal, and despite a crosswind component, the pilot did not need to apply brakes during the taxi. When reaching the holding point at taxiway C-6, he applied the toe brakes to set the parking brake for the engine run-up. At that moment, he noticed that the left brake had failed, smelled burning, and saw smoke emerging from under the left wing. He immediately shut off the fuel and evacuated the aircraft along with the other occupant.
Injuries and Damage
Both the pilot and photographer were uninjured. The aircraft was completely destroyed by the fire. No other damage occurred.
Investigation Findings
Examination of the wreckage revealed several breaks and missing parts in the hydraulic fluid line running along the left main landing gear leg to the brake assembly. It could not be determined whether any of these defects existed before the fire. The fire originated in the left main wheel area. The only heat source in that region was brake friction. For the brakes to reach a temperature high enough to ignite hydraulic fluid, sustained and relatively prolonged brake application would be required. The pilot's voluntary brake use did not have such intensity and duration. It was considered unlikely that only the left wheel was slightly locked, as the pilot would have noticed a deviation in the aircraft's path. A possible scenario was that both wheels were lightly locked equally, possibly because releasing the parking brake did not fully relieve pressure. Additionally, the pilot noticed left brake failure just before the fire, suggesting a hydraulic line rupture.
Probable Cause
The origin of the accident could have been the partial blockage of the brake system due to some cause that could not be determined. The corresponding high temperature produced by the blockage in the brake assembly of the left landing gear leg and the hydraulic fluid spill that occurred when the line broke caused the ignition of the fluid and the subsequent fire.