PA28 instructor pilot experiences an engine fire while attempting to start the engine after a brief ...

Attributes
ACN	924719
Time
Date	201012
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	PA-28 Cherokee/Archer/Dakota/Pillan/Warrior
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Parked
Flight Plan	None
Component
Aircraft Component	Engine
Person 1
Function	Instructor Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Commercial
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 102 Flight Crew Total 480 Flight Crew Type 102
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor

Narrative:

My students and I were on a training flight to an uncontrolled airport; where one of my students was practicing touch and go's. After 0.9 hours of flight we landed; parked the airplane and shut it down. I then had my students switch seats from the back to the pilot seat so the other student could fly. Upon start-up we attempted to use the hot engine start checklist. The airplane did not start. We waited and then attempted to start the engine using the normal start checklist; and we primed 3 times; I did this because I thought the engine did not start due to fuel starvation. We then noticed flames coming from the engine compartment; we kept cranking for only a second or two and set the mixture lean; fuel pump off; fuel selector off; I told my students to exit the plane and turned off the ignition. I then attempted to extinguish the fire with the airplanes fire extinguisher which did not put the fire out. Then a worker at the airport brought over a larger fire extinguisher and we then put the fire out. I notified my flight school and asked them to contact the fire department.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA28 instructor pilot experiences an engine fire while attempting to start the engine after a brief stop. The instructor and students evacuate and an airport worker arrives with a fire extinguisher and puts out the fire.

Narrative: My students and I were on a training flight to an uncontrolled airport; where one of my students was practicing touch and go's. After 0.9 hours of flight we landed; parked the airplane and shut it down. I then had my students switch seats from the back to the pilot seat so the other student could fly. Upon start-up we attempted to use the hot engine start checklist. The airplane did not start. We waited and then attempted to start the engine using the normal start checklist; and we primed 3 times; I did this because I thought the engine did not start due to fuel starvation. We then noticed flames coming from the engine compartment; we kept cranking for only a second or two and set the mixture lean; fuel pump off; fuel selector off; I told my students to exit the plane and turned off the ignition. I then attempted to extinguish the fire with the airplanes fire extinguisher which did not put the fire out. Then a worker at the airport brought over a larger fire extinguisher and we then put the fire out. I notified my flight school and asked them to contact the Fire Department.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.