Hello there!

We are a family of 5 (and a dog) who decided to make the leap and snag a B58 as our next airplane. Due to age gaps, my oldest will out grow the plane in a few years off to college while my two smaller kids ‘grow up’ in the Baron. We found our dream plane and during the tail of COVID decided to do a full panel upgrade and zero squawk effort in parallel. Most know that takes longer than planned and due to Garmin supply issues that took almost 1.5 years.

Delivery day, the avionics shop owner and I do the post-install check flight and boom. Engine failure, in flight fire, emergency landing, fire trucks, uncontained fire, evacuation on runway, the works. How fun! So, I put .6 hours on my brand new airplane before its down for another 1.5 years getting a new engine, all accessories, repairing all the burned wires from the new work, new bladders, skin and rib repairs, paint, etc. Fire is ugly and the 80-something percent fatality rate from maintenance induced fire scary. The fire was caused by a fuel line that was only a few threads on the nipple not fully threaded or tightened; a continuity error when the A&P working the plane resigned and a new A&P took over. I’m sad, not angry, it happened. Good people can make big mistakes. $145K worth of insurance claim later….I get to fly again!

Now, we are back in the air. Thankfully, my family still trusts me, the plane, the process, etc. I am an extremely active aviator and work for a large aviation university and consult for airports and airlines so I was able to use a Baron 58 sim for years to maintain proficiency. And, friends who let me borrow their planes oscillating between ‘look what happened to the last plane he touched’ and ‘well, he can fly and land under the worst case scenario’. I have finally out grown my planes nickname “The BBQ Baron” now that we are back in service and evidence of the previous BBQ no longer exists. Life goes on…..

I couldn’t be happier to be here for so many reasons! I look forward to learning from this amazing community as well as contributing. We are based at KPVG and live in Virginia Beach, VA and look forward to meeting ‘locals’ and everyone else!

Aaron

Wow. That's a scary story, but what a great calling card for your introduction! Looks like you have a beautiful plane. Welcome.

Thats one hell of an intro... Congrats on a great outcome and a beautiful plane. Curious how long you were in the air while on fire? Any smoke in the cockpit?

Matt,

It’s amazing what you just can’t foresee or know or how the human brain works. The fire started shortly after takeoff when the line off the fuel pump became pressure tight against the nipple due to fuel line rigidity (few or no threads holding it on). The engine was getting fuel, but a lot was leaking around the fitting causing a partial power loss. I saw this on the EIS and through feel. At first we thought it was an indication problem since it was really bumpy with summer thermals and it didn’t fit the mold of a complete power loss and retarding the ‘dead’ engine caused a substantial yaw confirming it was producing power. Once we realized the indications were correct, we had partial power, my first thought, crap in the fuel and a clogged fuel delivery XYZ. Since we had new bladders installed, CEIS fuel senders, etc. it seemed logical since the system was ‘open’ for a while even though we sumped it heavily. So, I flew on at partial power for a few minutes since the next airport was only 10 minutes away. At some point, it ignited. You cannot easily see a right engine fire from either seat. The flames tend to exit under the wing with the airflow through the cowling. There was barely any visible evidence of fire from inside the plane other than a poorly performing engine, a little scorching around the air inlet, etc. Your brain just doesn’t go there right away. In flight, the fire exits under the wing and you really can’t see it. Total time on fire, about 11 minutes. The flaps and gear were down for 3 minutes total and the heat was so intense I could put my finger through the leading edge of the flap. My favorite memory after declaring an emergency at the non-towered field was another plane in the the pattern that said “Baron on short final, you are on fire”.

Prior to departure we briefed a lot of what-if scenarios, identifying the new circuit breaker in case of runaway trim, alternates in case of engine failure, etc. The plane had been ground run several times and even leak checked. But, with only a few threads holding and no airflow or real vibration the line held and didn’t leak on the ground. We believe that relative wind through the cowling and higher power settings and normal engine heat were why on the ground runs there was no leak but shortly after takeoff (within 60 seconds) it worked its way off the fitting. Proof finger tight won’t hold but won’t leak on the ground which is why it’s so dangerous. With the Garmin EIS, it’s easy to see when all heck broke loose since the engine is producing little power and the EGT and CHTs are cooking….from the fire in the cowling. The engine and inside the cowling took the most damage. From the outside, it looks relatively ‘minor’ but the back of the motor was basically melted.

Aaron

Heck of a story, glad the 58 is back up and running. Another benefit of having a second engine. Could have easily been a much different outcome on a single.

This is why I include torque seal paint with all hose assys

Cross check in a tube