LAX94LA283

Factual narrative

On July 6, 1994, at 1145 hours Pacific daylight time, the pilot of a Meyers ME 200 aircraft, N7MV, experienced an in-flight fire shortly after departing the airport at Chico, California. The pilot returned to the airport and, after landing, he and his passenger jumped from the aircraft due to smoke and fire in the cockpit. The aircraft received substantial fire damage. The pilot and his passenger received minor injuries. The examination of the aircraft by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the left exhaust pipe from the engine had broken in two. The break was at the aft end of the pipe where the exhaust shroud/muff connects to the cabin heat control valve. Examination of the burned wires showed some patches of insulation remaining. However, a large electrical wire between the electronic volt/ammeter and the avionics bus was completely void of any insulation. The pilot indicated no electrical problems and the logbooks revealed no electronic maintenance had been accomplished for some time. THE PILOT EXPERIENCED AN IN-FLIGHT FIRE DUE TO A SEPARATION OF THE END OF THE EXHAUST PIPE WHERE THE EXHAUST SHROUD/MUFF CONNECTS TO THE CABIN HEAT CONTROL VALVE. ALSO FOUND WAS A LARGE ELECTRIC WIRE BETWEEN THE VOLT/AMMETER AND THE AVIONICS BUS COMPLETELY VOID OF ANY INSULATION. THE LOGBOOKS INDICATED NO ELECTRICAL MAINTENANCE HAD BEEN PERFORMED FOR SOME TIME. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12