Ercoupe 415 N415WP

Summary

On 22 June 2019 at about 09:51 local time, a Ercoupe 415 registered N415WP was involved in an accident near Smithfield, Rhode Island, 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

22 June 2019 at 09:51

Classification

Accident

Location

Smithfield, Rhode Island, United States

Nearest airport

North Central State Airport (SFZ)

Coordinates

41.9131, -71.4853

Aircraft

Ercoupe 415

Registration

N415WP

Category

Airplane

Year built

1946

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Smithfield → Southbridge

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN19LA213

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to use carburetor heat on approach in weather conditions conducive to carburetor icing, which resulted in a forced landing to a pond.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was about midway to his destination airport in a light sport airplane when he detected the odor of hot oil, so he elected to return to his departure airport to land. While on approach to land, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power and its propeller stopped turning. After determining a nearby road was unsafe to land on due to vehicles, the pilot elected to land in a pond short of the approach end of the runway. The left wing separated from the fuselage during the landing. Examination of the airplane's engine showed no anomalies, and the source of the odor could not be determined. Examination of the cockpit showed that the fuel control was in the ON position and that the carburetor heat was off. Weather conditions at the airport were conducive to serious carburetor icing at glide power. It is likely that, during the approach, the pilot failed to use carburetor heat and the engine experienced carburetor icing, which led to the loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.