Bad ending to a good airplane

[boppin]

Well folks, that did not last long...

N7407V was sent to Infinity Aviation a couple of weeks ago for its annual.  After going over the inspection with the chief of maintenance (not much to do), I was on my way to an overseas business trip and looking forward to the good flying weather.  The next day I received a phone call that there was a fire at the hangar centered on my airplane and that N7407V was "gone".

Apparently they were draining the fuel tanks in the hangar when a spark (they can't tell me how it started) caused the fuel to catch fire.  The fire engulfed the airplane and destroyed it.  The next morning I went and took a couple of pictures (they are in my photo gallery if you'd like to see the damage) and frankly, I'm surprised that no one was hurt or killed.

I'm still a little stunned over the whole thing.  I got back from my trip and cleaned out the hangar (it has a new owner now) somewhat mechanically.  22 years of waiting for my opportunity to own an airplane, 8 months of flying and in one afternoon it is gone.  Insurance will make me whole financially, and I think I will buy again sooner rather than later (my wife insists that I buy a replacement) and that will make the sting of this go away.  Maybe a 252...

Bob

[MooneyMitch]

Oh my gosh Bob!  I cannot imagine the trauma you are going through with this.  I admired your Mooney even before you purchased it.  It was a great looking airplane.  That is so sad.

Please take some time, sort it all out and look for a replacement.  Don't let this unfortunate experience stop you from continuing your dream.   Best to you and please keep us all updated.

 

[The-sky-captain]

Bob- Sorry to hear about the horrible news, hopefully you can get another Mooney soon and get over this loss. You may want to find a new mechanic...

[mooneygirl]

Bob, I can relate to your experience, the difference being with me, the loss was as the result of an "off airport" landing.  I did immediately start looking for a replacement for Maggie I. It was healing for me to look, shop and eventually purchase Maggie II.  Probably unlike your aircraft, we were able to salvage instruments from Maggie I, and as well, have her N number transferred to my airplane.

I feel for you and your family.  It is very traumatic.

All the best

Jolie

[mooneygirl]

Bob, one final thought, something my Dad said to me a few hours after the crash.  "It was a piece of metal. Metal can be replaced.  There are no funerals being planned today."  It helped me.

[Guest Anonymous]

Quote: boppin

.....  (my wife insists that I buy a replacement) and that will make the sting of this go away.  Maybe a 252...

Bob

[hansel]

Wow. I got a bit choked up when I first saw the photos you posted.

I too will be will be dropping off my Mooney to the mechanic before a trip overseas-- now with heightened paranoia.

Best of luck with your search.

[FAADAR]

Hi Bob

This happened to my friends Baron, not to the same extent!! can you imagine a baron parked under a GV and other business aircraft.. ON FIRE!!..

The problem is draining fuel into PLASTIC cans without a means to ground the cans. I have as a mechanic done this a million times and was a million times very lucky. Please to all if you are to drain fuel please use Metal cans..GROUND THEM AND THE PLANE.. have a fire extinguisher ready and from my military experience ( as over kill as it may seem) do this in a secure area even outside if you have to .

Luckily no one was hurt the insurance will probably take care of the damage but there is a shop owner without work for a long time.. a mechanic working at Wal Mart.. and a pilot with a loss of memories and the burden of looking for another plane.. all lucky that no one was killed..

 

To all .. PLEASE if you see fuel draining in plastic cans ungrounded aircraft, and draining in a full hangar feel free to correct these guys. if they shrug you off or are too "stressed" to comply then find another more serious shop!! It is good to learn from other peoples mistakes.. it is your mistake then if it happens to you !!

Safety first they say  Lloyd "the DAR"

[fantom]

Terrible material loss, thankfully covered by insurance. Lots of fine Mooneys on the market.

Ther is a good reason we ground our planes when refueling. Please take the excellent advise Lgnelson offers.

[M016576]

excellent advise, it's a shame that such a beautiful aircraft had to be destroyed for it to be rendered   Of course, the upside is that you get to try out some more Mooney's (and in a great market!)!!!  -Job

[Buster1]

Sorry Bob, that hurts.  Must be like losing a family member.  Though it "is just metal" and I agree, it's still difficult.  Good luck, glad the insurance was there to cover you.

[KSMooniac]

Ouch!  Sorry to read about this.  I suggest you get in touch with Ernie and go get his 252 pronto!

[Earl]

Quote: JimR

[KSMooniac]

Yes, the insurance company will pay up to the hull value as written in your policy, which is what you (and your broker/agent) choose to put in there.

I got a good deal at the top of the market in 2007, but I've been upgrading as I go to, so I've increased my hull value over what I had in 2007 even though I've added 400 hours since then.  I know I would have a hard time getting another J like mine at my insured value, though.  I'd either have to wait and shop patiently (very difficult!) or buy one and start upgrading, which would likely wind up more expensive than my current insured value.

The risk in putting too much hull value in your policy (aside from higher premiums) is that the insurance company will be more inclined to fix major damage instead of totaling the plane, leaving you with a plane that may fly again, but with potentially bad damage history that might impact the overall value of the plane and your ability to sell down the road.  For some planes/values this isn't a huge deal (I don't think it is for my J) but for others, perhaps a mid-60s C model for example, it might be significant.  Frankly, I'd rather see higher values just to avoid scrapping an otherwise good plane after a simple gear-up landing for example.  I know of a newish Ovation that had a disastrous "hard landing" that bent the wing, breached the tanks, destroyed the gear, damaged the fuselage, etc.  It was new enough that it made financial sense to repair it, though, whereas a plane like mine likely would have been scrapped. 

Bottom line, insure yours at a value that would get you close to what you have now if you had to buy another one, or buy & fix/upgrade one to get to the equivalent of your current plane.  What is tricky is that the value of avionics or other upgrades is only about 50% of cost...so a $75K of Mooney + $50k of Garmins = $100k hull, more-or-less.  Insuring to $125k might be overkill, but that is what you need to decide.

[M016576]

I've got another question, Scott mentioned that

"What is tricky is that the value of avionics or other upgrades is only about 50% of cost...so a $75K of Mooney + $50k of Garmins = $100k hull, more-or-less.  Insuring to $125k might be overkill, but that is what you need to decide."

Does that mean that if the worst were to happen and the aircraft is totaled, would the insurance company keep the avionics, or would I get to keep them (if they still worked)?  I could probably look this up, but I'm curious what the concensus is....

-Job

[Earl]

Thanks Scott.  My hull value would basically pay off my note and leave me $35K in cash to get another plane.  In today's market I would probably be able to trade up from my current plane.  Not that I want any of this to happen but it does eliminate for me one area of angst over the soft market......

[ErickR]

I am not proud to admit this.. We just did a reseal on the left fuel tank last month, draining the fuel into a plastic container without grounding it or the plane. I didn't even think of it being a hazard. Guess I got lucky as there was no fire... I won't be doing that again!

 

 

[KSMooniac]

yeah, the soft market is a double-edged sword....great for buyers, not so great for sellers, and so-so for traders/upgraders.  Best case would be if your plane got totaled out and had a higher-than-market insured hull value, and you could buy "more" airplane for the same money.  In reality, that is quite difficult if you're talking about 20-50 year old planes with various degrees of upgrades/options over the years and you couldn't just run out and find what you want next week like you might with a recent SR-22 or Ovation.

Job, if your plane gets totaled, insurance company will write a check to you (and the bank if there is a lein) and take the plane or whatever might be left of it.  They will then turn the salvage over to auction or a salvage yard directly, and I think you might even have the first option to purchase the salvage at some price, but I'm not sure.  It is unlikely you would get to buy select parts, though, and would likely have to get the entire thing.  If you have a place to store it and the time to part it out, this might work out great, but it will take a lot of time and effort.  Otherwise, you might work a deal with a salvage company to buy whatever you want at some price right then, and it would save them the trouble of removing/inspecting/storing/advertising/shipping/etc.  If my hangar were to fall on my plane, I would try to get my avionics and autopilot at a minimum since replacement cost would be double what the installed value is currently.

[FAADAR]

Quote: ErickR

I am not proud to admit this.. We just did a reseal on the left fuel tank last month, draining the fuel into a plastic container without grounding it or the plane. I didn't even think of it being a hazard. Guess I got lucky as there was no fire... I won't be doing that again!

 

 

[carusoam]

Use caution with powered screw drivers. (and know what you are opening)

At my airport, a young mechanic was opening wing inspection plates.  He accidently began opening the bottom of a fuel tank. fuel exited the screw hole and ran down into the screw driver, igniting fuel, mechanic and plane.  Fortunately, an experienced mechanic with fire extinguisher was near by.

Glad to hear nobody was injured in Boppin's unfortunate incident.

-a-

[skyking]

First off let me add my condolenses for your loss, but as Jolie pointed out metal can be replaced and i am so glad to hear nobody was hurt.

I am sure it is just like losing a member of the family.

Hope we see you in a new family member soon

[jmills]

Wow, that is a horrible pic. Only good news, as others have said, is that no harm to any people. Good luck on the search and purchase for her replacement!

[Immelman]

I'm sorry for your loss -- but am glad it was just an airplane, and not people. I learned a lesson about de-fueling an aircraft in this thread (something I have not yet done) and am glad to pick up such a valuable piece of information here.

 

One question: did the fire damage any other aircraft? I see a cirrus in the background. I'm curious if the heat might have caused some sort of structural compromise considering its composite.

[boppin]

A couple of good points were made in relation to draining the fuel tanks and although I am no expert, I want to be clear on what was reported to me by the FBO just this morning as to what measures were taken during the fuel draining.

1. The bucket was plastic, but according to the chief of maintenance the bucket and the aircraft were grounded utilizing 2 grounds (one to the airframe and one to ground).  I mentioned the concerns noted here on the board and he stated that they had a grounding strap designed to insure the plastic bucket was fully grounded.  I have no idea what it would look like and did not ask for an example, but he was absolutely confident that the bucket was properly grounded, and from what the fire marshall has stated, he is probably right.

2. The defueling was done inside, with one hangar door open to ventilate.  He mentioned that if he were looking for one specific area that he would do differently it would be to have both doors open for better ventilation.  Why?  See below:

3. The fire started, not in the draining fuel, but in the vapors.  In fact, the original fire ball was under the fuselage on the ground away from the draining fuel.  It then spread and caught the draining fuel and that was all she wrote.  The current thinking at the FBO is that better ventilation (or, of course doing it outside) might have prevented the fire.

4. The source of the spark is the largest unknown at the moment.  The leader in the clubhouse is, believe it or not, the creeper that the mechanic was on or the mechanic himself.  It was a fairly dry day and static electricity is the current culprit du jour.  Infinity is currently testing ways to insure the creepers are grounded as well.

Keep in mind that this is not a "mom and pop" shop but a Mooney, Cirrus and Cessna service center and to put it in perspective, my airplane was the cheapest in the hangar (dollar-wise, of course) by 100Ks of dollars.  They certainly have done great work for me (with the exception of burning my airplane to the ground) including pre-buy, avionics and maintenance and treated me more like a turbine owner than a mid-70s piston driver.  That is not to excuse what happened here, but to emphasize the fact that if a shop like this can have issues draining fuel from airplanes, your local mechanic can as well.  Heck, I changed my home airport to be close to them and paid a premium to have them do my maintenance!

Interestingly, I am still considering them for my maintenance for any aircraft that I might purchase.  In my mind I realize that having my airplane destroyed while in their care should require the "death penalty" for future business.  But they treated me so well and their support before the incident (and, notably after the incident) was fantastic that I am still not ready to leap away from them yet.  This is a dilema that I will work through over the next couple of weeks.  As a note, they have offered to be my buyers agent to look for a new airplane and to do a pre-buy on any options (graitis) I might find.  Good business sense on their end?  Probably.  But I appreciate the gesture none the less.

Thanks for everyone's notes of sympathy for my loss.  But, as I tell my kids, a setback is really an opportunity as long as you keep positive.  It has been a tought 2010 so far; I was laid off in January and my airplane burned to the ground in March. But I formed my own company and now make more than I did while working and I'm sure I will end up with a real nice J model (the 252 thing is probably stretching it) at the end of this.  Just another opportunity to improve my lot.

 

Bob

[boppin]

Quote: Immelman

 

One question: did the fire damage any other aircraft? I see a cirrus in the background. I'm curious if the heat might have caused some sort of structural compromise considering its composite.