Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415 N87172

Summary

On 25 August 2015 at about 17:35 local time, a Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415 registered N87172, operated by Mallard William C, was involved in an accident near Atlanta, Georgia, United States. 2 people were 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

25 August 2015 at 17:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Newnan Coweta County (CCO)

Coordinates

33.0000, -84.0000

Aircraft

Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415

Registration

N87172

Category

Airplane

Year built

1946

Engines

1

Operator

Mallard William C

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Flight Test

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Atlanta → Atlanta

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA15LA379

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's loss of airplane control, which resulted in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight was being conducted by the private pilot/owner and an airline transport-rated pilot; it was the airplane's first test flight after an annual inspection and the reinstallation of the wings. The private pilot/owner reported that, after the airplane took off and became airborne, it banked hard left, and the other pilot took control. The other pilot stated that he had to apply full right rudder and aileron to maintain level flight. He climbed the airplane to 400 ft with full power and turned back to land on the departure runway. Once the airplane was over the runway, the pilot reduced the power, and the airplane again banked left. The pilot made a correction, and the airplane then banked right and landed hard next to the runway. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical deficiencies that would have precluded normal operation of the flight controls. The owner also reported that there were no mechanical problems with the airplane. He suggested that the wing attachments may have partially given-way, but no evidence was found indicating that this occurred.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.