NTSB CAROL · Event
Event DCA88IA044
Registry · N154US
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
DIRECT FLY S R O ALTO NG
Year of manufacture
2025
Engine
ROTAX 912ULS2 (100 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20250312
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A0DADE
Registrant of record
US AVIATION TRAINING SOLUTIONS INC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE IMPROPER INSTALLATION OF THE BATTERY GROUND CONNECTION THAT RESULTED IN PREMATURE LOOSENING OF THE CONNECTION AND ELECTRICAL ARC IGNITION OF POOLED FUEL IN THE CAC BILGE. THE FUEL WAS NOT DRAINED OVERBOARD DUE TO INOPERATIVE CAC BILGE AREA DRAIN VALVES. CONTRIBUTING TO THE INCIDENT WAS NORTHWEST'S NON-COMPLIANCE WITH A SERVICE BULLETIN TO MODIFY THE GROUND CABLE ATTACHMENT BRACKET TO PREVENT LOOSENING OF THE CONNECTION.
Factual narrative
DRG TAXI TO GATE AFTER LDG, CREW STARTED APU NORMALLY. WHILE TAXIING NR 3 PNEUMATIC DUCT FAIL LT ILLUMINATED. LATER, THE CENTER ACCESSORY COMPT (CAC) DOOR WARNING LT ILLUMINATED AND GND PERS SAW SMOKE EMANATING FM THE FUSELAGE OUTFLOW VALVES. AFTER ENG SHUTDOWN, SMOKE ENTERED THE CABIN AND THE APU TRIPPED OFF. FIRE DEPT PERS FND CAC OUTSIDE DOOR HOT, THEN, USING CABIN FLOOR HATCH, OBSRVED 1-2 FT HIGH FLAMES IN CAC. FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED WITH DMG LIMITED TO CAC. INVEST REVEALED IMPROPER/LOOSE BATTERY GND CONNECTION. NORMAL CABLE MOVEMENT WOULD LOOSEN CONNECTION DRG BATT DISCONNECT. BURNED INSULATION BLANKETS MET SPEC BUT WERE COATED WITH SYNTHETIC HYD FLUID (SLAT ACTUATOR LKG) AND JET FUEL. FIRE PATTERN SUGGESTED FUEL SEEPAGE ALONG BULKHEAD FASTENER LINE. BATT GND LAST INSTALLED NOV,87. BATT LAST CHDG 2 WKS BEFORE INCIDENT. SERVICE BULLETIN PERTAINING TO BATT GND NOT COMPLIED. INOPERATIVE CAC DRAIN VALVES ALLOWED FUEL TO POOL IN CAC BILGE. NO CAC FIRE WARNING OR EXTINGUISHER SYSTEM WAS INSTALLED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1988_DCA88IA044.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Conference Paper
Computational Analysis of Steady State Aerodynamics of Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Configuration in Deep Stall
This study presents a computational investigation of steady state aerodynamics of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration over a wide range …
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Automating Bird Diverter Installation through Multi-Aerial Robots and Signal Temporal Logic Specifications
This paper tackles the task assignment and trajectory generation problem for bird diverter installation using a fleet of multi-rotors.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Polycrystallinity enhances stress build-up around ice
Damage caused by freezing wet, porous materials is a widespread problem, but is hard to predict or control. Here, we show that polycrystallinity makes a great difference to the stress build-up process…
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Enhanced Prediction of Three-dimensional Finite Iced Wing Separated Flow Near Stall
Icing on three-dimensional wings causes severe flow separation near stall. Standard improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) is unable to correctly predict the separating reattaching flow due…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2021 · Journal article (JAAER)
Analysis on the Negative Emotional, Physiological, and Cognitive Responses Elicited from of the Activation of a Stall Alarm
Failing to identify an aerodynamic stall can lead to the inability of an aircraft to sustain flight. To warn pilots of an impending or fully-developed stall, many aircraft have safety devices installe…
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗