ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 288557
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| Date: | Wednesday 28 April 2010 |
| Time: | 10:55 LT |
| Type: |  ERCO 415-C Ercoupe |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | N87172 |
| MSN: | 345 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1946 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 2178 hours |
| Engine model: | Continental A&C75 SERIES |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | LaGrange, Georgia -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | La Grange-Calloway Airport, GA (LGC/KLGC) |
| Atlanta-Newnan Coweta County Airport, GA (KCCO) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot completed a preflight inspection of the airplane before taking off and flying to an airport 32 nautical miles (nm) away. There, he made a full stop landing, taxied back, and took off for another airport 16 nm away. Again, he made a full stop landing and taxied back, before taking off for his original departure airport. Just after takeoff, while the airplane was in the traffic pattern downwind leg, about 1000 feet, the engine sputtered twice and lost power. He then attempted to land on the runway, but the airplane landed short and the nose landing gear buckled. Subsequent examination of the airplane revealed that no fuel lines were compromised or blocked, that the fuel lines had little to no fuel in them, and that the gascolator was approximately half full of fuel. In addition, the fuel header tank was empty while the two wing tanks were almost full. The fuel tank shut-off valve, and the main fuel valve were found in the off position, but the pilot stated that he had turned off both upon evacuation of the airplane. He also stated that it was his practice to turn off the fuel tank shut-off valve after every flight. The fuel tank shut-off valve controlled fuel flow from the wing tanks to the header tank. With the lack of fuel found in the header tank, it was likely that the fuel tank shut-off valve had been in the off position for all three flights, which ultimately resulted in fuel starvation to the engine.
Probable Cause: A loss of engine power due to the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection and his failure to ensure that the fuel tank shut-off valve was open resulting in fuel starvation.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB ERA10LA248
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 5 March 2013 | N87172 | Private | 0 | Newnan, Georgia | |
sub |
| 25 August 2015 | N87172 | Mallard William C | 0 | Newnan Coweta County Airport (KCCO), Atlanta, GA | |
sub |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Oct-2022 23:53 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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