Ercoupe 415-D N2332H

Summary

On 14 January 2010 at about 22:41 local time, a Ercoupe 415-D registered N2332H, operated by Joshua Gray, was involved in an accident near Napa, 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

14 January 2010 at 22:41

Classification

Accident

Location

Napa, California, United States

Nearest airport

Napa County Airport (KAPC)

Coordinates

38.2131, -122.2806

Aircraft

Ercoupe 415-D

Registration

N2332H

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Joshua Gray

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Napa → Calaveras Count

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR10LA111

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of the unintentional movement of the fuel selector valve beyond its stops during takeoff initial climb resulting in restricted fuel flow.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Almost immediately after takeoff, at 100 feet above ground level (agl), the engine of the single engine airplane began to lose power, surged two times, then lost all power. The pilot landed in an open field off the end of the runway. During the landing the nose wheel sank into the soft ground, collapsed, and the airplane nosed into the ground. The pilot reported that both wing fuel tanks were full and the engine run up was normal. During the post accident airplane examination fuel was identified in both wing tanks, the fuselage header tank, and the main fuel valve was observed rotated to the 2 o’clock position. The valve was a two position valve; "off" when positioned to 9 o’clock, and "on" when positioned to 12 o’clock. Investigators observed that the valve had no positive stops and could be rotated past the 9 o’clock or 12 o’clock positions. The valve was located on the far left bottom side of the instrument panel, about knee level, which was not the standard location for the valve. During the post accident examination of the engine, investigators were able to run the engine up to 2,500 rpm, and noted that if the operator in the left seat moved his left knee to the left, it would push on the fuel valve, rotating it to the 2 o’clock position. With the fuel valve at the 2 o’clock position, fuel flow to the carburetor was reduced to a "trickle," and the engine slowly lost power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.