Incident Description
During a climb to cruise, a fire broke out in the left wing of the aircraft. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, executed a forced landing on a road. After touchdown, the landing gear completely collapsed. The pilot escaped without injury.
Investigation Findings
Examination revealed that the left turbocharger had been removed and reinstalled multiple times. A clamp on the turbocharger exhaust was found to be improperly installed and not aligned correctly. This allowed hot exhaust gases to be diverted toward the firewall, where they melted a fuel line, igniting the fire.
Official Probable Cause
The official probable cause attributed the incident to three factors related to the fire: an improperly installed exhaust system clamp, improper maintenance installation by company maintenance personnel, and a burned fuel line. The forced landing occurred during the landing flare and touchdown, and the landing gear collapsed during the landing roll due to overload on the main gear attachment.