True story (?)

[RECSAM]

Many years ago I heard or read a story concerning a 'small' aircraft fire on the ground at what I guessed to be a south European airfield. The gist of it was a fire that began with a hot start and the subsequent attempts by the local fire brigade to get out there and put it out. Owing to their failure even to get the fire truck started (it was eventually pushed out by another vehicle) the fire took hold on the dry grass nearby. I would be very grateful if anyone out there in Pruneland can fill me in on the details.

[IGh]

This isn't the mishap mentioned (this example is not a small aircraft).

But even with a B767 ground mishap, this case has neither any NTSB rpt nor any mention in the FAA's ASIAS dB.

http://www.flightglobal.com/assets/getAsset.aspx?ItemID=13098

Re the 2Jun2006 fire near N330AA, on ground at LAX:
Excerpt, from CF6-80 failure ravages American 767-200ER (http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/cf6-80-failure-ravages-american-767-200er-207176/)
... uncontained engine failure which caused extensive damage ... Boeing 767-200 at Los Angeles ... N330AA ... ground run-up ... No.1 engine ... CF6-80A ... HPT disc ruptured, puncturing the fuel tank in the wing near the trailing edge, slicing partially through the belly of the aircraft and damaging the keel beam. The No.2 engine was also damaged by the exploding debris and the fuel tank on the right wing punctured.... wing puncture ... fuel to be spilled on the tarmac ... a fuel line rupture caused a major fire which engulfed the wing and the rear fuselage before it was put out. ... fire department was close by ... fire under control ... damage to the wing trailing edge, flaps, aft fuselage, fuel tanks on both sides and the keel beam ... surrounding runways and taxiways were closed off ... Parts of the second HPT disc ... still missing ...

[DaveReidUK]

But even with a B767 ground mishap, this case has neither any NTSB rpt nor any mention in the FAA's ASIAS dB.

That's standard.

The ICAO definition of a (reportable) accident is:

"An occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which, in the case of a manned aircraft, takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until such time as all persons have disembarked..."

So it specifically excludes incidents occurring during maintenance, ground running, etc, which is why they don't appear in accident databases.