Socata TB10 Tobago, G-FAIR, 23 September 2013
Socata TB10 Tobago, G-FAIR
Summary:
On the late downwind leg to land at Rayne Hall Farm, the pilot sensed that the engine was not running smoothly and had “missed a couple of beats”. Carburettor heat had been applied, and he suspected carburettor ice might be responsible, so he executed a precautionary high approach. A successful landing was carried out but, as the aircraft came to a halt on the runway, the engine stopped and smoke could be seen emerging from the upper engine cowling on the right side. His passenger jumped out and could see a small fire coming from the underside of the cowling, which he quickly extinguished using the on-board fire extinguisher.
The cowlings were removed and a lot of sooting and fire damage could be seen. On switching on the electrical fuel pump, fuel could be seen pouring from the underside of the carburettor.
The maintenance organisation visited the aircraft two days later and removed the carburettor, which they took back to their workshop for testing. They were unable to reproduce the leak and a strip inspection did not find any defects. They believe that a transient case of the float sticking may have caused overfuelling of the carburettor.
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