N6726R

On July 23, 1999, at 1733 mountain daylight time, a Cessna T210F, N6726R, was destroyed by fire after landing at Albuquerque International Airport, Albuquerque, New Mexico. The private pilot and one passenger were not injured. The aircraft was being operated as a personal cross-country flight under Title 14 CFR Part 91, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Farmington, New Mexico, at 1630. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.

Immediately following the accident, the pilot was interviewed by the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department. During the interview, the pilot stated that he made a "routine" landing on runway 03. As the aircraft touched down, the propeller struck the asphalt runway. He called the tower and advised them that he thought the nose gear had collapsed. As the aircraft skidded to a stop, he stated that he noticed a fire had started. He and his passenger exited the right side of the aircraft since fire was coming through the pilot's side of the cabin floor. They ran 30 to 40 feet away, and the entire airplane caught fire. When asked by the detective what he thought caused the actual fire, he stated that he thought the engine friction started it, and that the fire was first burning under the cowling, then came into the cabin.

During the pilot's interview, he told the detective that he believed three things could have happened which resulted in the fire:

1. "The [landing] gear didn't lock down." He stated that he "didn't notice" if the gear light illuminated to indicate that the gear was down and locked. 2. He "forgot to put them [the landing gear] down." 3. There was "some other gear failure."

After the fire was extinguished by airport fire and rescue personnel, a postaccident examination of the aircraft was performed by an inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and investigators with the fire and rescue department. The landing gear handle was found in the UP position, as was each of the landing gear doors. Fireworks and several cigars were found in the aft cabin section and had sustained substantial burn damage at the time they were found. The majority of the fire occurred on the right side of the aircraft. According to the FAA inspector, the fire appeared to have started aft of the firewall. Due to the damage the aircraft sustained as a result of the fire, the exact source of the fire could not be determined. They were also unable to determine whether the fire was initiated prior to or subsequent to the aircraft's landing.