Undetermined · NTSB CEN12FA395
NAPPI TITO C LANCAIR 235M — Monroe Center, IL
| Date | June 26, 2012 |
| Location | Monroe Center, IL |
| Aircraft | NAPPI TITO C LANCAIR 235M (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Enroute Fire/smoke (non-impact) |
| Pilot age | 77 |
| Pilot total time | Unknown |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - C
What happened
As he was approaching the destination airport, the pilot of the amateur-built airplane reported that the airplane was on fire. The pilot landed the airplane in a cornfield with its wings level and at a 5 degree descent angle. He was not able to exit the airplane and perished. Examination of the airplane showed that the fire was concentrated in the area between the airplane’s firewall and instrument panel where the fuselage-mounted header tank would have been. Only portions of the header tank and the fuel system within the cockpit were identifiable. The remainder of the fuel system components were consumed by the fire. The postaccident examination did not show any evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunction or abnormalities, although the damage was too extensive to determine the reason for the in-flight fire.