Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Erco 415-C Ercoupe, N99307: Accident occurred July 16, 2016 at Ogle County Airport (C55), Mount Morris Township, Illinois

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Des Plaines, Illinois

Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms

Aviation Accident Data Summary - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

http://registry.faa.gov/N99307

NTSB Identification: CEN16LA299 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, July 16, 2016 in Mt Morris, IL
Probable Cause Approval Date: 01/18/2017
Aircraft: ENGINEERING & RESEARCH 415 C, registration: N99307
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.

NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The private pilot was conducting a local personal flight, which was the airplane's first flight following its annual inspection. The pilot reported that, while on the downwind leg, he reduced power for landing and that the engine then lost power. During the subsequent forced landing, the airplane encountered a crosswind gust and then bounced twice, which caused substantial firewall damage. 

An examination of the carburetor revealed no anomalies. The weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to the accumulation of serious carburetor icing at descent power settings. It is likely that the engine power lost power due to carburetor icing.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's loss of airplane control during a forced landing in gusting crosswind conditions and the airplane’s subsequent bounce on the runway following a loss of engine power. Contributing to the accident was the loss of engine power due to carburetor icing.

On July 16, 2016, about 1645 central daylight time, an Engineering & Research 415 C airplane, N99307, impacted terrain during a forced landing on runway 9 at the Ogle County Airport (C55), near Mount Morris, Illinois, following an inflight loss of engine power. The pilot was uninjured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed in the area about the time of the accident, and the flight was not operated on a flight plan. The local flight originated from C55 about 1640.

According to the pilot, this was the airplane's first flight following its annual inspection. The airplane departed from runway 27. On downwind the pilot reduced power for landing and the engine lost power. The pilot stated that he turned to land on runway 9. During the forced landing, the airplane encountered a crosswind gust and the airplane sustained the substantial firewall damage when it bounced twice on the runway.

At 1554, the recorded weather at the Chicago/Rockford International Airport (RFD), near Rockford, Illinois, was: wind 140 at 8 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; sky condition scattered clouds at 5,000, broken clouds at 25,000 feet; temperature 26 degrees C; dew point 13 degrees C; altimeter 30.11 inches of mercury.

The pilot indicated in his accident report that that there was a carburetor mechanical malfunction. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector had the carburetor examined by a mechanic. No carburetor anomalies were detected. However, the inspector plotted RFD's temperature and dew point at the time of the accident on a carburetor icing probability chart. The plot showed a probability of serious icing at descent power settings.

NTSB Identification: CEN16LA299
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, July 16, 2016 in Mt Morris, IL
Aircraft: ENGINEERING & RESEARCH 415 C, registration: N99307
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On July 16, 2016, about 1545 central daylight time, an Engineering & Research 415 C airplane, N99307, impacted terrain during a forced landing on runway 9 at the Ogle County Airport (C55), near Mount Morris, Illinois, following an inflight loss of engine power. The pilot was uninjured. The airplane sustained substantial fuselage, firewall, and engine mount damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed in the area about the time of the accident, and the flight was not operated on a flight plan. The local flight originated from C55 at time unknown.

According to preliminary information given to the Federal Aviation Administration, the pilot stated that this was the first flight following the airplane's annual inspection. The airplane departed from runway 27. On downwind the pilot reduced power for landing and the engine lost power. The pilot stated that he turned to land on runway 9. During the forced landing, the aircraft caught a wind gust and it sustained the substantial damage when it porpoised twice.

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