# Accident 19970816022539A: Univar 415C, Silver City, NC, August 16, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 16, 1997, 16:43 local time
- Place: Silver City, NC
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Unauth Low Level Opns
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.7200° N, 79.4599° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.7200&lon=-79.4599&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2237H, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2237H) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Ercoupe 415-C (registry code 0420322, https://openairdocs.org/model/ercoupe-415-c) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental A&C75 series (registry code 17005, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c75-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: UNIVAR 415C
- Reported engine: CONT C7512
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA97LA234](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA97LA234) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970816022539A

## Narrative

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

FUEL SPRAY FROM FUEL CAP. DESCENDED TO VIEW HIGHWAY MARKER STRUCK GUY WIRE AT APPROX 30 FT AGL. LANDED IN TREES. (-23) WHILE ENROUTE TO ASHEBORO, NC (W44) FROM MARION, NC (9A9), THE PILOT BECAME DISORIENTED AND OVERFLEW ASHEBORO, NC. HE SAID HE DECIDED TO PROCEED TO SILER CITY, NC (5W8). IN ORDER TO CONFIRM HIS POSITION, HE DECIDED TO FLY LOW OVER THE ROAD AND READ A ROAD SIGN. DURING THE DESCENT TO READ THE SIGN, THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED A "GUY" WIRE OVER HIGHWAY 421 SOUTH OF SILER CITY. THE PILOT STATED HE SAW SOME SMALL WIRES, BUT NOT THE WIRES HE HIT. HE STATED HIS INDICATED AIR SPEED (IAS) WAS 95 KNOTS. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED A GUY WIRE AND LANDED IN SOME TREES ON THE SIDE OF HIGHWAY 421. HE WAS NOT INJURED AND THERE WAS NO INJURY TO HIS PASSENGER.

## 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 MIA97LA234](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA97LA234), Aug 16, 1997: Ercoupe 415-C (N2237H), Siler City, NC, substantial damage. Probable cause: Failure of the pilot to obtain a preflight weather briefing, inaccurate weather evaluation by the pilot, and his poor in-flight planning decision for descending too low to read a road sign.

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.

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