Ercoupe 415-C N720RC

Summary

On 29 November 2012 at about 23:15 local time, a Ercoupe 415-C registered N720RC, operated by Herrick V. Robert, was involved in an accident near Blair, Nebraska, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 November 2012 at 23:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Blair, Nebraska, United States

Nearest airport

Blair Municipal (KBTA)

Coordinates

41.9092, -96.2239

Aircraft

Ercoupe 415-C

Registration

N720RC

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Herrick V. Robert

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Scribner → Blair

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

CEN13FA081

1 person died.

The pilot's loss of control due to physical incapacitation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Witnesses reported seeing a low-flying airplane strike power lines near an auto dealership parking lot. There was a flash of light, and the airplane descended nose down into some parked trucks. When witnesses reached the airplane, the pilot was already deceased. However, none of the described injuries should have been immediately fatal. According to the autopsy report, the 92-year-old pilot’s death was attributed to severe coronary arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis (quadruple vessel disease). Arteriosclerosis was noted throughout the main coronary arteries. The pilot most likely lost control of his airplane due to an acute coronary event related to his underlying severe coronary artery disease and that he was dead before the aircraft crashed. Federal Aviation Administration medical records, however, did not describe any coronary disease. The toxicology report did not find any medications associated with treated coronary disease. The pilot’s coronary disease likely was undiagnosed.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.