Pilot Debrief

ERCOUPE 415 near Lindenwold, NJ — 2016-10-19

Final reportERA17LA023
Sign in to save
Date
2016-10-19
Location
Lindenwold, NJ, USA
Aircraft
ERCOUPE 415
Registration
N415WE
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Serious
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Cruise

Probable cause

A partial loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.

NTSB narrative

The pilot rented the airplane, then flew to another airport to pick up a passenger for a local area flight. After departing with the passenger, they briefly returned to the airport to fix a headset. They departed for the second time, and shortly after, the engine abruptly lost power. The pilot performed a forced landing in a residential area, which resulted in substantial damage to the airframe and serious injury to the pilot and the passenger. The passenger reported that during the flight, the pilot stated that "something was wrong with the throttle." The pilot later stated he believed there may have been a problem with the throttle connection. A postaccident test run of the engine verified the mechanical integrity of the powertrain and valvetrain. Although it is possible that the engine lost partial power due to an unknown problem with the throttle connection, this could not be conclusively determined based on the available evidence.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Engine power loss
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have checked throttle connection before flight.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents7

Related mishaps