Eye witness accounts of plane crashes often claim the plane was on fire before impact. That seldom proves to be the case. I sometimes wonder if they're seeing sunlight reflect off the plane and that makes them think the plane is on fire. While it's possible the plane was on fire, I'd rate the current speculation that the pilot committed suicide or that he was distracted by the landing gear problem as more likely possibilities.

Even a simple malfunction has a way of really getting a pilot's attention. Last December 27th, I was returning from a flight to Texas when my plane's voltage regulator failed without notice. There wasn't much of an indication of a problem until I was in the Pueblo area. The Pueblo controller asked me if I was still in the area and if I'd turned off my transponder. It turns out the battery voltage had dropped to a level below the minimum required for the transponder to operate.

Over the next several minutes, other things also started to fail one by one. My number 2 Nav/Comm cut out, my fuel guages went to empty, and my main GPS/Comm began cutting in and out (it isn't as voltage sensitive as other avionics). The engine was running fine so I continued on to my destination. However, those fuel guages REALLY kept attracting my attention. I knew I had over 30 minutes of fuel, still, I damn near fixated on those guages.

I used my battery powered GPS receiver to cut a couple miles off my course. I reduced power to cut fuel consumption. I entered the Meadowlake pattern quickly and put the plane down (no flaps - they're electric, too) as quickly as possible. Those fuel guages really kept drawing my attention to the point of distraction. It wasn't a pretty landing but I did get it down. Luckily, I'd practiced no-flap landings not too long before that flight. Once I was on the ground, I ended up having to push the plane a couple hundred yards to my hangar after the engine failed to start at the fuel pumps.