NTSB CHI86FEX04 — 1985-11-24 · FORT WAYNE, Indiana, United States

Current FAA registration · N46L

Make / Model: BEECH A200
Year of manufacture: 1978 · 7 years old at event
Engine: P&W CANADA PT6A-41 (850 hp)
Seats / Engines: 15 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date: 19991020
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A5983C

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N46L Beech E18S None

Factual narrative

THE ACFT EXPERIENCED A RIGHT ENG FIRE DURING ENG START. THE PLT REPORTED THE RIGHT ENG WOULD NOT START DURING THE FIRST ATTEMPT. DURING THE SECOND ATTEMPT AT STARTING THE ENG, IT STARTED. WHILE RUNNING THE ENG ON THE PRIMER, THE PLT HEARD A LOUD BANG AND SAW FLAMES COMING FROM THE ENG. THE PLT ATTEMPTED TO RUN THE ENG TO DRAW THE FLAMES INTO THE INTAKE, HOWEVER, THIS FAILED TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE. THE PLT SECURED THE ACFT AND EVACUATED. THE FIRE WAS THEN COMPLETELY ENTINGUISHED BY THE ARPT FIRE DEPT. INVESTIGATION DISCLOSED THE RIGHT ENG CARB FLOAT ASSEMBLY WAS CRACKED ALLOWING THE FLOAT TO SINK. WHEN THE FUEL BOOST PUMP WAS USED FOR STARTING THE ENG THE FUEL WAS ALLOWED TO FLOW THROUGH THE CARB INTO THE INTAKE SCOOP AND ONTO THE ACFT AND GROUND BELOW THE ACFT. THE ENG BACKFIRE, HEARD BY THE PLT, THEN IGNITED THE FUEL. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1985_CHI86FEX04.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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