Ercoupe 415-D N3837H

Summary

On 13 July 2004 at about 00:30 local time, a Ercoupe 415-D registered N3837H was involved in an accident near Santa Clarita, California, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 July 2004 at 00:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Santa Clarita, California, United States

Coordinates

34.4183, -118.5150

Aircraft

Ercoupe 415-D

Registration

N3837H

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Monica → Modesto

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX04LA265

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's inadequate planning/decision by his inadequate evaluation of the weather resulting in an attempt to conduct flight beyond the aircraft's climb performance capability.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot made a precautionary landing in a field and the airplane collided with a rock. When he departed, the ambient temperature was about 80 degrees F. As he progressed northbound while climbing toward mountainous terrain, the temperatures exceeded 100 degrees F. When the airplane was about 2,500 feet msl, it would not climb and the engine temperature gauge was indicating 240 degrees F. The pilot attempted to return to a nearby airport; however, he could not attain the altitude needed to transition through a mountain pass to the airport. He made a precautionary landing in a field. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector performed a post accident test-run on the engine, and it operated normally. The density altitude at the accident site was calculated to be in excess of 5,300 feet.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.