Mooney destroyed by battery fire?

[philiplane]

https://www.asias.faa.gov/apex/f?p=100:95:::NO::P95_EVENT_LCL_DATE,P95_LOC_CITY_NAME,P95_REGIST_NBR:26-APR-24,HORNELL,N5632Q

[Hank]

Wow, an E! Can't wait to read how this happened, what battery he had, what was running in the cockpit, etc., etc.

Makes me wonder if the battery was still on the firewall like mine, or if it had been relocated to the aft radio space?

[N201MKTurbo]

Well, that leaves more questions than answers.

1. What kind of battery?

2. Was the battery compromised? Such as a jump start from a dead battery?

3. Did the pilot notice any odd indications? overcharge current or voltage?

4. What was the first indication of the battery fire?

[ArtVandelay]

Do Es have an “high voltage” annunciation like the J?

[Hank]

54 minutes ago, ArtVandelay said:

Do Es have an “high voltage” annunciation like the J?

Even my 1970 C has two idiot lights for voltage:  High Voltage and Low Voltage, right there beside the 6-pack. From the factory

[LANCECASPER]

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/386971

 

Yikes - not good    https://fb.watch/rLAn2QowWO/            https://fb.watch/rLAXT-RBQm/

 

 

[skykrawler]

Jeez, the firemen in that video didn't seem to be in any hurry.

[PeteMc]

46 minutes ago, skykrawler said:

Jeez, the firemen in that video didn't seem to be in any hurry.

I'm sure they were already told the plane was empty.  Not much rushing and potentially getting injured would accomplish. 

No real clue about firefighter training, but there are so many things where you learn in training that a steady consistent pace is ultimately faster than rushing and having to do thing two or three times to be able to move on to the next task.

 

 

Edited April 30 by PeteMc

[Hank]

55 minutes ago, skykrawler said:

Jeez, the firemen in that video didn't seem to be in any hurry.

The front seats, engine and tires were already buring intensely while they were unrolling their hose. But it was rapidly controlled once they turned on the spigot.

[Shadrach]

1 hour ago, skykrawler said:

Jeez, the firemen in that video didn't seem to be in any hurry.

The coroner is usually not in a huge rush and for the same reason.

[Schllc]

I would have thought more urgency was warranted because of the fuel in the wings.  
they didn’t seem to be at all concerned about that…

[Hank]

3 minutes ago, Schllc said:

I would have thought more urgency was warranted because of the fuel in the wings.  
they didn’t seem to be at all concerned about that…

Looked like it was burning well already. I'm guessing that's why the cockpit and tires were flaming.

[EricJ]

2 hours ago, skykrawler said:

Jeez, the firemen in that video didn't seem to be in any hurry.

Firefighters tend to not rush because they know it is usually counterproductive.   It's like a pilot not rushing or panicking when things are going pear-shaped...usually a good thing.

[Dialed In]

20 hours ago, Hank said:

Wow, an E! Can't wait to read how this happened, what battery he had, what was running in the cockpit, etc., etc.

Makes me wonder if the battery was still on the firewall like mine, or if it had been relocated to the aft radio space?

The E’s batteries are all in the aft radio space for what I know. Mine is a 1965 and is in the back. 

[EricJ]

That looks like it may have started in the cabin, so it could be it was a Li battery fire or something that was in the cabin.

[Yetti]

On 4/29/2024 at 8:28 PM, Schllc said:

I would have thought more urgency was warranted because of the fuel in the wings.  
they didn’t seem to be at all concerned about that…

As a firefighter.....  If there is not life involved, no rush is warranted.   I could say something about their hose lay as they looked like they were pulling rolled up hose.  Also moving from an up wind position to a downwind position.   They were doing car tactics where you approach from the front quarter.   But notice when the magnesium wheels are hit how they spark.   If that gets on you it will go through your gear.       Also the fuel was on fire from the wing sump.   He hits it a couple of times and it relights.   meaning there was something there hot enough to relight.         We are taught and it takes awhile to get through to the younger go getters to evaluate what you are saving vs. cost.     So if they had got water on it 1-3 minutes earlier how would the outcome be different?    

[Yetti]

If people think he should be running.   Do this.   Put on an extra 60lbs of clothing and air tank and start jogging.   For the "fun" stuff we do.  They sit you in a steel box with 1500 degrees above your head.   Your gear will start melting at about 500 degrees.   The floor is about 3-400 degrees.   I thought about taking a camera into the box, but did not want to melt one.   From training this weekend.  

 

Edited May 2 by Yetti

[jetdriven]

For some reason, you can’t post photos here anymore, For some reason, you can’t post photos here anymore, but the LP but the owner of the Aircraft said he put his stratus battery in the backseat and it caught on fire and burst the entire airplane into flames, but like I said we can’t post photos anymore. I’m not sure why because this site is kind of useless without that ability.

[Shadrach]

1 hour ago, jetdriven said:

For some reason, you can’t post photos here anymore, For some reason, you can’t post photos here anymore, but the LP but the owner of the Aircraft said he put his stratus battery in the backseat and it caught on fire and burst the entire airplane into flames, but like I said we can’t post photos anymore. I’m not sure why because this site is kind of useless without that ability.

It’s because you are not listed as a supporter. Non supporters have a very limited level of storage which you like exceeded years ago. Text the pics to me and I’ll upload them.

[DXB]

THE STRATUS BATTERY?? YIKES!!. I wonder if the battery that caught fire was installed in the receiver  and whether it was a removed original one or a replacement one.  It could have been damaged upon removal or during install. 

I replaced mine with one of these last year: $125 from Sporty's, comes pre-installed in a new back housing, so no chance of damage to the Li ion battery during replacement. 

https://www.sportys.com/stratus-battery-replacement-kit.html

By contrast I note there are now these cheap knockoffs that just give you the battery for $23

https://www.amazon.com/FYIOGXG-5300mAh-19-61Wh-Battery-Stratus/dp/B0CJ552XBK

I wonder if the latter is a bad idea due to lower quality and/or greater chance of damage during removal/install?

[Andy95W]

Hi Byron @jetdriven- if you go to the top of the page and touch on your name next to the thumbnail picture, you can go to “My Attachments”.  That is a shortcut to take you to your photos and you can delete some of the oldest ones.

There might be a shorter method.  I agree with you, this restriction really limits some of this site’s utility.

 

[00-Negative]

The pilot responded on a Facebook forum. He uses a Stratux instead of a Stratus which is the same thing I use. It does not have an internal battery that I am aware of. Mine came with an external lithium battery pack which connects via micro-usb (see attached picture). He said he dropped the battery while walking to the plane. After starting his plane, the Stratux did not work, so he put it in the backseat. During run-up, he turned around and the back seat was on fire. 

I have this same Stratux for ads-b and weather. I have never used the battery, I have it mounted under the instrument panel with a micro-usb cable routed to the cig lighter plug. 

[Yetti]

The Stratux is a Raspberry PI based ADSB in Solution.    No batteries in it.   So the battery pack got damaged in the fall, and then lit off.   My Stratux is plugged into a USB port hardwired into the plane.

 

I have ADSB in and out on the Dynon, so the phone only sometimes gets connected to the Stratux.   at this point mostly a back up.

Edited May 2 by Yetti

[LANCECASPER]

If you fly with a lithium ion battery pack it might not be a bad idea to care a fireproof bag:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=lithium+battery+fireproof+bag&hvadid=557443365024&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9028236&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=9471056757458921762&hvtargid=kwd-375806719621&hydadcr=2148_13437114&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_7uf119sayp_e

https://www.sportys.com/shop.html?q=fire containent#/filter:ss_category_hierarchy:Safety$2520and$2520Survival

Even though I don't carry a battery pack I might pick up a containment bag on amazon and keep it in the seat pocket, just in case the battery in a tablet or phone goes crazy. I guess you'd need welding gloves or something better than that to get it in the bag though.

[Skates97]

2 hours ago, 00-Negative said:

I have this same Stratux for ads-b and weather. I have never used the battery, I have it mounted under the instrument panel with a micro-usb cable routed to the cig lighter plug. 

I have the same setup for power to my Stratux going to a USB outlet.