N140NE – CESSNA T182T – 2008-09-02 NTSB Accident Report

On September 02, 2008, a Cessna T182T (N140NE) was involved in an incident near Munising, MI. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The inadequate preflight planning/preparation by the pilot to carry a hazardous material aboard an airplane that resulted in a fire during an after-landing taxi.

The pilot placed a gasoline powered "weed whip" on the rear passenger seats of the airplane for a personal flight. The pilot smelled a "strong" smell of gasoline as the airplane touched down for landing at the destination airport. During the after landing taxi, the engine end of the weed whip fell behind the two front seats. The pilot stated that he reached back and placed the weed whip back onto the seats and "something caused it to ignite." The pilot stated that he was charging his cell phone where the weed whip was located. The pilot stated that the smoke was so bad that he pulled the mixture control to idle cutoff and exited the airplane. The pilot was uninjured. The airplane was then consumed by fire.

This incident is documented in NTSB report CHI08CA271. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N140NE.