Pilot Debrief

ENGINEERING & RESEARCH Ercoupe 415 near Atlanta, GA — 2015-08-25

Final reportERA15LA379
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Date
2015-08-25
Location
Atlanta, GA, USA
Airport
CCO
Aircraft
ENGINEERING & RESEARCH Ercoupe 415
Registration
N87172
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Takeoff roll

Probable cause

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

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.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have aborted the takeoff when the airplane banked hard left.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 5 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents5

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