Ercoupe (Eng & Research Corp ) 415-C N87125

Summary

On 6 May 1998 at about 01:35 local time, a Ercoupe (Eng & Research Corp ) 415-C registered N87125 was involved in an accident near Olustee, Oklahoma, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 May 1998 at 01:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Olustee, Oklahoma, United States

Nearest airport

Olustee Muni (F09)

Coordinates

34.5401, -99.4191

Aircraft

Ercoupe (Eng & Research Corp ) 415-C

Registration

N87125

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW98FA203

1 person died.

The student pilot's improper decision to attempt an 180 degree turn to return to the takeoff runway.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot with a passenger onboard, had completed 2 or 3 touch and go landings to runway 35. During the following takeoff, while turning left crosswind, the aircraft 'shuddered' and entered what the pilot believed was a 'slip stall.' He 'vaguely' remembered struggling to recover the aircraft from the stall and seeing the end of the runway over his left shoulder and thinking 'we have got to get back over there.' Subsequently, the aircraft impacted the ground. The wreckage path was oriented on a magnetic heading of 130 degrees, and the airplane came to rest approximately 320 feet from the departure end of runway 35. No structural or mechanical anomalies were observed during an examination of the airplane. According to the FAA Southwest Region Flight Surgeon, the blood alcohol concentration of 0.044% detected at the hospital and the 0.029% detected at the Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI) 'may have affected the pilot's performance, but he would not have been impaired.'

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.