Accident Overview
On 17 February 2002, a Cessna T207 (registration ZS-ASC) operated as a private flight for parachute dropping at Citrusdal Aerodrome in the Western Cape, South Africa. The aircraft was carrying the pilot and six passengers. There were no injuries or fatalities.
Sequence of Events
The pilot had completed several parachute drops and refueled the aircraft with 100 liters of fuel before departing for two additional drops. During engine start-up, the engine cut out multiple times due to fuel flow surges, a characteristic of fuel-injected engines during hot starts. However, during the power check, fuel flow stabilized, and the pilot proceeded with normal pre-takeoff procedures.
After completing pre-takeoff checks, the pilot began the take-off and confirmed normal manifold pressure, RPM, and fuel flow. Shortly after lift-off, the pilot observed a drop in fuel flow of approximately 3 gallons per hour and decided to abort the take-off and land back on the remaining runway. During the aborted take-off, the aircraft's right-hand brake line was torn from the caliper by rough ground, causing the right brake to fail and the aircraft to veer left.
The pilot managed to stop the aircraft before the perimeter fence by applying full right rudder and left brake. After coming to a stop, while allowing the turbocharger to run down, the pilot noticed grass burning around the left wheel. He immediately shut down the engine and evacuated the aircraft.
Aftermath
The pilot and passengers attempted to extinguish the fire around the main wheels using the aircraft's fire extinguisher. When that extinguisher was exhausted, the fire spread. Several people from the drop zone arrived with additional fire extinguishers and successfully extinguished the fire.
The fire was caused by overheated brakes and tyres igniting dry grass.