Ercoupe 415 N3667H

Summary

On 7 June 2019 at about 00:30 local time, a Ercoupe 415 registered N3667H, operated by Able Flight Inc, was involved in an accident near Lafayette, Indiana, 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

7 June 2019 at 00:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Lafayette, Indiana, United States

Nearest airport

Purdue University (LAF)

Coordinates

40.4122, -86.9369

Aircraft

Ercoupe 415

Registration

N3667H

Category

Airplane

Year built

1946

Engines

1

Operator

Able Flight Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lafayette → Lafayette

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA19CA329

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor's failure to maintain pitch control and his improper landing flare, 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 instructor reported that he was going to demonstrate a simulated engine failure on takeoff for the student pilot. After climbing the airplane several hundred feet, he reduced the engine power to idle and pitched the airplane to maintain best glide speed. He applied back pressure to the yoke during the landing flare and realized the airplane was going to land harder than desired. The airplane landed hard on the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. The instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.