Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C N87172

Summary

On 28 April 2010 at about 15:55 local time, a Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C registered N87172 was involved in an accident near LaGrange, Georgia, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 April 2010 at 15:55

Classification

Accident

Location

LaGrange, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

LaGrange-Callaway (LGC)

Coordinates

33.0053, -85.0703

Aircraft

Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C

Registration

N87172

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

LaGrange → Atlanta

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA10LA248

1 person had minor injuries.

A loss of engine power due to the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection and his failure to ensure that the fuel tank shut-off valve was open resulting in fuel starvation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot completed a preflight inspection of the airplane before taking off and flying to an airport 32 nautical miles (nm) away. There, he made a full stop landing, taxied back, and took off for another airport 16 nm away. Again, he made a full stop landing and taxied back, before taking off for his original departure airport. Just after takeoff, while the airplane was in the traffic pattern downwind leg, about 1000 feet, the engine sputtered twice and lost power. He then attempted to land on the runway, but the airplane landed short and the nose landing gear buckled. Subsequent examination of the airplane revealed that no fuel lines were compromised or blocked, that the fuel lines had little to no fuel in them, and that the gascolator was approximately half full of fuel. In addition, the fuel header tank was empty while the two wing tanks were almost full. The fuel tank shut-off valve, and the main fuel valve were found in the off position, but the pilot stated that he had turned off both upon evacuation of the airplane. He also stated that it was his practice to turn off the fuel tank shut-off valve after every flight. The fuel tank shut-off valve controlled fuel flow from the wing tanks to the header tank. With the lack of fuel found in the header tank, it was likely that the fuel tank shut-off valve had been in the off position for all three flights, which ultimately resulted in fuel starvation to the engine.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.