[JYO] NTSB Investigates Leesburg Plane Fire

A pilot is listed in fair condition at Washington Hospital Center this 
morning where he is undergoing treatment for burns sustained last night when 
his airplane caught fire on a run-up area prior to take off at Leesburg 
Executive Airport. 

The National Transportation Safety Board is on the scene to investigate the 
cause of the fire. The 30-year-old man was performing an final instrument 
check required prior to take off when the fire broke out. Airport Director 
Doug McNeeley said the Cessna 172SP was destroyed in the fire that created 
heat so intense that parts of the plane melted into the asphalt. 

Fire and Rescue crews were sent to the scene in response to a call from an 
employee at Piedmont Hawthorne, a fixed-base operator at airport. McNeeley 
said that emergency workers arrived quickly. “The fire and rescue people did 
a fantastic job. We estimate that they were here in about five minutes.” 

Department of Fire and Rescue spokesman Mary Maguire said that crews from the 
Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company and the Loudoun Rescue Squad, along with 
Loudoun Fire and Rescue staff, had the fire under control within 10 minutes. 
The pilot was flown by helicopter to the Washington Hospital Center trauma 
unit for treatment of external and inhalation burns. McNeeley said the 
Leesburg-based aircraft was relatively new, about a year old, and was an 
upscale model of the single engine four-seater. The run-up area should be 
reopened to airport traffic later today. Eventually, the asphalt section will 
have to be cut out and replaced.

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