Piper PA-31-350 incident near Newark, Ohio, April 20, 2001
On April 20, 2001 at about 5:00 pm local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N4078L, suffered minor damage in an incident near Newark, Ohio (Newark-Heath Airport). It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The company maintenance personnel's failure to comply with the service bulletin, which resulted in a fuel boost pump leakage and subsequent fire during taxi. A factor was the manufacturer's confusing service bulletin.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 20, 2001 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Newark, Ohio · Newark-Heath Airport · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N4078L · registry record · serial PA31-81520060
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After landing, while taxing back to the ramp area, the pilot observed a fire in the left engine. He secured the engine and evacuated the airplane. Examination of the engine revealed that the fuel boost pump was leaking. At the time, the pump manufacturer had a service bulletin to inspect, and retorque if necessary, four screws that secured the pump valve assembly. Examination and testing of the pump at the manufacturer's facility revealed that the wrong set of four screws had been torqued. Discussions between the pump manufacturer and airplane operator revealed that there was some ambiguity in the current service bulletin, and the maintenance personnel were confused at to which four screws the bulletin referred to. Subsequently, the pump manufacturer revised the service bulletin.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,976 hours in all; 227 in this make and model; 145 in the last 90 days; 68 in the last 30 days; 1,768 as pilot in command; 591 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 1, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,334 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, February 28, 2001; 48 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,448 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: FWA Fort Wayne IA at 4:00 pm
- Destination: VTA Newark OH
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 09, 4,649 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 600 ft
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 4:54 pm from VTA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
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.