Piper PA-44-180 accident near Lubbock, Texas, May 24, 2007
On May 24, 2007 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-44-180, registered N255ER, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lubbock, Texas (Lubbock Preston Smith Int. airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the engine fuel supply line and the separation of the number one cylinder exhaust pipe resulting in an engine fire.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 24, 2007 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Lubbock, Texas · Lubbock Preston Smith Int. · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-44-180 · all PA-44-180s on the register
- Registration
- N255ER · no longer on the register · serial 44-8195004
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The 1,730-hour flight instructor and a student pilot performed a normal engine run-up in a twin-engine airplane prior to a local training flight. The run-up did not reveal any anomalies and the airplane was clear to taxi to runway 35L. The right engine lost power while the airplane was holding short to take the active runway. The student pilot attempted to restart the right engine when he noticed "flames coming from the bottom of the engine cowling." The flight instructor and the student pilot exited the airplane through the cabin door without injuries. Airport rescue and fire fighting (ARFF) personnel responded to the aircraft fire and extinguished the fire. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, who responded to the scene, reported that the right engine nacelle sustained structural damage as result of the engine fire. Additionally, the inspector found the exhaust stack for the number one cylinder had separated. The inspector also reported that the braided fuel line leaked when the line was pres
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,730 hours in all; 140 in this make and model; 210 in the last 90 days; 155 in the last 30 days; 1,440 as pilot in command; 550 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Lycoming O-360-E1A6D (piston); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Lycoming LO-360-E1A6D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: KLBB Lubbock TX at 11:00 pm
- Destination: KTUL Tulsa OK
- Flight plan: IFR
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 16 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 20,000 ft; scat at 4,700 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.18 inHg
- Observation at 4:53 pm from LBB
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.