# Accident 20050513008569A: Univar 415C, Saluda, VA, May 13, 2005

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 13, 2005, 21:13 local time
- Place: Saluda, VA
- Airport: Hummel Field Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Forced/Precautionary Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.6022° N, 76.4464° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.6022&lon=-76.4464&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2406H, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2406H-2008-02-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C (registry code 0420312, https://openairdocs.org/model/engineering-research-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 O200A
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 308 total, 6 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC05LA084](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC05LA084) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050513008569A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON MAY 13, 2005, AT 2109 LOCAL TIME, ERCOUPE 415C, N2406H, AT HUMMEL FIELD ON TAKE-OFF FROM RWY 1, THE AIRCRAFT ENGINE QUIT AT ABOUT 75 FEET AGL. PILOT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED IMMEDIATELY CHECKED THE MIXTURE AND THEN TURNED LEFT (NORTHWEST) TO AVOID TREES AND LAND IN A SMALL PASTURE. AFTER CLIPPING THE TOP OF A WOODEN FENCE-POST AT THE SOUTH END OF THE PASTURE THE AIRCRAFT LANDED, ROLLED NORTHWEST ACROSS THE PASTURE AND THROUGH A BARBED-WIRE FENCE WHERE IT STRUCK AN UNOCCUPIED FARM TRACTOR. THE PILOT SUFFERED MINOR FACIAL ABRASIONS AND THE PASSENGER WAS NOT INJURED. IMPACT WITH THE TRACTOR CAUSED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT NOSE AND WINGS. PROPELLER DAMAGE INDICATES THAT THE ENGINE WAS NOT MAKING POWER AT THE TIME OF IMPACT. THE FUSELAGE TANK, WHICH GRAVITY-FEEDS TO THE ENGINE CARBURETOR, WAS ABOUT TWO-THIRDS FULL. INVESTIGATION INDICATES THAT AN IMPROPERLY CLAMPED MIXTURE CONTROL CABLE HOUSING ALLOWED THE CABLE AND HOUSING TO SLIP AND MOVE THE MIXTURE CONTROL ARM ON THE CARBURETOR TO THE LEAN POSITION WHILE THE MIXTURE CONTROL IN THE COCKPIT REMAINED IN THE FULL RICH POSITION. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, THE AIRCRAFT HAD A RECENT HISTORY OF ENGINE FAILURES IN FLIGHT.

## 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 NYC05LA084](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC05LA084), May 14, 2005: Ercoupe 415C (N2406H), Saluda, VA, substantial damage. Probable cause: A loss of engine power due to an unsecured mixture control cable, which was not properly secured by maintenance personnel during a recent annual inspection. Also causal was the airplane owner's…

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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