# Accident 19980218001449A: Univar 415C, Woodlake, NE, February 18, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 18, 1998, 19:52 local time
- Place: Woodlake, NE
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.6303° N, 100.2297° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.6303&lon=-100.2297&mi=10
- Aircraft: N99270, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N99270-1998-09-18) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Ercoupe 415-C (registry code 0420322, https://openairdocs.org/model/ercoupe-415-c) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: UNIVAR 415C
- Reported engine: CONT C75*
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 4,231 total, 6 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI98LA094](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA094) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980218001449A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1998, APPROXIMATELY 1940 LOCAL, ON A FLIGHT FROM BASSETT, NE, TO VALENTINE, NE, N99270, EN ERCOUPE 415C, IMPACTED THE GROUND APPROXIMATELY 16 MILES SOUTHEAST OF VALENTINE, NE, RESULTING IN FATAL INJURIES TO THE PILOT AND SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT. (.19) ON FEBRUARY 18, 1998, AT 1915 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME (CST), AN ERCOUPE 415-C, N99270, OPERATED BY A COMMERCIAL PILOT, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT DEPARTED CONTROLLED FLIGHT AND IMPACTED THE TERRAIN, 5 MILES WEST OF WOOD LAKE, NEBRASKA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS BEING CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. THE PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT BASSETT, NEBRASKA, AT 1900 CST, AND WAS EN ROUTE TO VALENTINE, NEBRASKA. (.4)THE PILOT TOOK OFF FROM BASSETT, NEBRASKA, IN A MISTY, LIGHT RAIN, AT ABOUT 1930 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME (CST), EN ROUTE TO VALENTINE, NEBRASKA [60 MILES AWAY].   AT APPROXIMATELY 2100 CST, THE AIRPORT MANAGER AT VALENTINE RECEIVED A TELEPHONE CALL FROM THE PILOT'S SISTER, INQUIRING AS TO HER BROTHER'S WHEREABOUTS.  THE AIRPORT MANAGER CALLED THE FIXED BASE OPERATOR AT B                                     ASSETT. THE PILOT'S SISTER CONTACTED THE CHERRY COUNTY, NEBRASKA, SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, AND REPORTED THE PILOT MISSING.  THE NEBRASKA WING OF CIVIL AIR PATROL (CAP), BEGAN AN AERIAL SEARCH FOR THE PILOT'S AIRPLANE AT 2240 CST.  THE SEARCH WAS TERMINATED 30 MINUTES LATER, WHEN THE CAP PILOT BEGAN PICKING UP ICE ON THE AIRPLANE AT 1,000 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL (AGL).  THE AERIAL SEARCH WAS RE-CONVENED THE FOLLOWING MORNING.  THE WRECKAGE WAS FOUND AT APROXIMATELY 0830 CST.  THE AVIATION ROUTINE WEATHER REPORT  (METAR) STATION AT AINSWORTH, NEBRASKA, AT 1952 CST, REPORTED AN OVERCAST CEILING OF 3,400 AND 10 MILES VISIBILITY.  THE SHERIFF, WHO WAS PART OF THE GROUND SEARCH THE NIGHT OF THE ACCIDENT, DESCRIBED THE WEATHER AS BEING A MIXTURE OF FREEZING DRIZZLE, RAIN, AND SNOW, WITH LOW CLOUDS AND LOW CEILINGS.  ON ARRIVAL AT THE ACCIDENT SITE THE FOLLOWING DAY, THE SHERIFF SAID THAT HE FELT ICE ON THE SURFACE OF ONE OF THE AIRPLANE'S WINGS.  EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED NO ANOMALIES.

## 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 CHI98LA094](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA094), Feb 19, 1998: Ercoupe 415-C (N99270), Wood Lake, NE, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's intentional flight into adverse weather conditions, the wing ice, and the inadvertent stall. Factors contributing to this accident were the rain, freezing rain and low ceilings.

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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