# Accident 19970409005679A: Univar 415C, Bushnell, FL, April 9, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 9, 1997, 11:00 local time
- Place: Bushnell, FL
- Airport: Cheryl-Lane Landings Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Final Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 28.6607° N, 82.1099° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=28.6607&lon=-82.1099&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3263H, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3263H-2024-05-18) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Engineering & Research 415-C (registry code 0420302, https://openairdocs.org/model/engineering-research-415-c) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental C85 series (registry code 17008, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c85-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: UNIVAR 415C
- Reported engine: CONT C8512F
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 11,656 total, 150 in this make and model, 8 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA97LA132](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA97LA132) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970409005679A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

HIGH SINK RATE ON FINAL AND TOO LOW. NOSE GEAR HIT BARBED WIRE FENCE. SHORT FINAL. HIT GROUND. BENT NOSE GEAR. (-23) ON APRIL 11, 1997, A RAMP INSPECTION OF ERCO-415-C, N3263H, REVEALED THAT ONE OF THE PROPELLER BLADES WAS BENT IN A REARWIND POSITION.  THE DAMAGE TO THE PROPELLER IS INDICATIVE OF A WHEELS UP LANDING.  THIS WAS CONFIRMED WHEN FURTHER EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE REVEALED THAT THE NOSE STRUT HAD BEEN PUSHED INTO A REARWARD POSITION.  DURING THE INTERVIEW, THE PILOT STATED THAT DURING HIS APPROACH, THE AIRPLANE STRUCK THE TOP HALF OF A BARB WIRE FENCE, TORE DOWN ANOTHER BARB WIRE FENCE THAT DIVIDED THE ROAD FROM THE RUNWAY, AT THAT MOMENT THE NOSEGEAR IMPACTED THE GROUND, THE AIRCRAFT THEN PROCEEDED TO VEER SLIGHTLY TO THE RIGHT AND STOPPED NOSE DOWN APPROXIMATELY 325 FEET FROM THE IMPACT.  NO WITNESSES TO THE ACCIDENT COULD BE FOUND.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB MIA97LA132](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA97LA132), Apr 9, 1997: Ercoupe 415-C (N3263H), Bushnell, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain a visual lookout and altitu de while on final approach to landing resulting in an in-flight collision with a fence and subsequent collision with terrain.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.