Event LAX04LA159

Factual narrative

On March 9, 2004, about 1400 mountain standard time, a Beech 65, N751T, experienced an explosion in the left wing while taxiing from landing at Sedona Airport, Sedona, Arizona. International Albatross Corporation was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal cross-country flight departed St. Johns, Arizona, about 1300, with a planned destination of Sedona. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan had not been filed. In a written report, the pilot stated that after landing on runway 21 he made a right turn in an effort to taxi off the runway. While turning, the left wing exploded. A small fire erupted, which he subsequently extinguished via the use of a handheld fire extinguisher. He noted that during the landing neither the navigation nor strobe lights were in the "on" position. During a telephone conversation with a National Transportation Safety Board investigator, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector recalled examining the airplane after the accident occurred. He stated that the outboard section of the left wing exploded. He noted that the most extensive damage was to the leading edge section, where the cambered skin was completely blown off the wing. He found a small piece of material, resembling leather, wrapped around a portion of the fuel line with a clamp affixed, keeping it in place. On the skin material around the fuel line, he found a dark gummy substance, consistent with the appearance of residual fuel. He opined that the clamped material was installed in an effort to fix a fuel leak. He also thought that after the material became saturated with fuel, fuel vapors filled the outboard cavity of the wing. A Safety Board investigator examined the airplane's parts manual. It revealed that the electrical wiring in the outboard section of the left wing consists of wiring for the navigation light, the landing light, and the stall warning indicator. The fuel line runs behind the leading edge to the outboard of the wing. A routine aviation weather report (METAR) for Flagstaff, Arizona, located 18 miles away on a bearing of 020 degrees, reported that the temperature was 17 degrees Celsius at the time of the accident. The terrain elevation at the Sedona Airport is 4,827 feet mean sea level. Based upon the atmospheric conditions obtained from the METAR, a Safety Board computer program computed a density altitude of 8,532 feet. The airplane's left wing exploded while the pilot was taxiing from landing. After landing, the pilot maneuvered the airplane in a turn in an effort to taxi off the runway. While turning, the outboard section of the left wing exploded and a small fire erupted. The pilot noted that during the landing neither the navigation nor strobe lights were in the "on" position. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector found a small piece of material, resembling leather, wrapped around a portion of the fuel line with a clamp affixed, keeping it in place. The location of the clamped material around the fuel line was in an area of the most damage. On the skin material around the fuel line, he noted a dark gummy substance, consistent with the appearance of residual fuel. He opined that the clamped material was installed in an effort to fix a fuel leak. He also thought that after the material became saturated with fuel, fuel vapors filled the outboard cavity of the wing. The airplane's parts manual revealed that the electrical wiring in the outboard section of the left wing consists of wiring for the navigation light, the landing light, and the stall warning indicator. The fuel line runs behind the leading edge to the outboard tanks of the wing. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12