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ATL87LA120

1987-04-21 · OWENSBORO, Kentucky, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport OWB

N5496T has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (GTEEX REVOLUTION INDEPENDENCE 19), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

PLT IN CRUISE FLT AT 5500 FT ABOUT 30 MIN AFTER DEP FM PADUCAH WHEN HE NOTED A SMALL AMOUNT OF BLACK SMOKE COMING FROM TOP OF PANEL. THE REAR SEAT PAX NOTED FLAMES IN THE PANEL AT THE SAME TIME. THE PLT NOTED HIS POSITION IN RELATION TO OWENSBORO AND INITIATED AN EMER DESCENT TOWARD THE ARPT. HE STATED THAT WITHIN 30 SEC OF INITIAL SMOKE SIGHTING THE CABIN WAS FILLED WITH DENSE BLACK SMOKE AND HE OPENED THE WINDOWS TO SEE AND BREATHE. BY THE TIME HE REACHED THE ARPT AND LANDED, HE STATED THAT THE FLAMES WAS MELTING THE WINDSHIELD AND HEADLINER. AFTER HE HAD SLOWED OR STOPPED THE ACFT, HE EVACUATED HIS PASSENGERS AND HIMSELF. THE FIRE CONTINUED TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ACFT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1987_ATL87LA120.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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