Ercoupe 415-C N99452

Summary

On 3 February 2005 at about 22:10 local time, a Ercoupe 415-C registered N99452 was involved in an accident near Alexandria, Louisiana, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 February 2005 at 22:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Alexandria, Louisiana, United States

Nearest airport

Alexandria International Airpo (AEX)

Coordinates

31.3272, -92.5483

Aircraft

Ercoupe 415-C

Registration

N99452

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pascagoula → Alexandria

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW05FA065

1 person died.

The pilot's loss of control while maneuvering to land.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While entering the airport traffic pattern on a left downwind, at the conclusion of a 213 nautical mile cross country flight, the commercial pilot lost control of the airplane and the airplane impacted terrain in a nose low attitude on airport property. A witness located on one of the closed runways observed the airplane fly over a tree line with no erratic movements. As the airplane descended, it "went into an approximate 20 degree nose down attitude" and impacted the ground. There was no fire. Flight control continuity was established throughout the airframe at the accident site. No mechanical anomalies were noted with the engine or airframe. The 68-year old commercial pilot had purchased the 1946-vintage airplane approximately 2 months prior to the accident and he had accumulated a total of 3.9 hours on the airplane. The pilot had been denied his last medical certificate following his last examination in 1978. All radio communications between the pilot and the tower operator were reported as normal. The pilot's autopsy did not produce any signs of incapacitation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.