- Date
- August 10, 2013, 13:15 local (17:15 UTC)
- Place
- Mackinac Island, MI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N99094Ercoupe 415-C
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 21, 2013
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA - Grand Rapids FSDO
- FAA report
- 20130810015139A
- Case key
- 87875
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control while on final approach.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that the cross-country flight was uneventful until the final approach portion of the landing to runway 27. She reported that the final approach was flown at the normal airspeed for the airplane. She said that the next thing she knew was that the airplane was on its nose and the left wing scraped the runway. The airplane then righted itself and skidded off the left side of the runway. The airplane incurred damage to the left wing spar. The pilot reported that the wind was from the west and that local pilots reported to her that wind from the west can create a swirl as it moves up the runway. The reported wind about the time of the accident was from 240 degrees at 11 knots, gusting to 16 knots.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that the cross-country flight was uneventful until the final approach portion of the landing to runway 27. She reported that the final approach was flown at the normal airspeed for the airplane. She said that the next thing she knew was that the airplane was on its nose and the left wing scraped the runway. The airplane then righted itself and skidded off the left side of the runway. The airplane incurred damage to the left wing spar. The pilot reported that the winds were from the west and that local pilots reported to her that winds from the west can create a swirl as it moves up the runway. The reported winds about the time of the accident were from 240 degrees at 11 knots, gusting to 16 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N99094
- Reported as
- Ercoupe 415-C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1717
- Airframe hours
- 2,356
- Engine
- Cont Motor 75-12, 75 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 16, 2012
- Departed
- ESC · Escanaba, MI
- Destination
- MCD · Mackinac Island, MI
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- MCD · Mackinac Island Airport, runway 26, 3,501 × 75 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 61
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Sport Pilot
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Last flight review
- August 29, 2011
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 275 total · 75 in this make and model · 275 as pilot in command · 17 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 11 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- MCD
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 25, 2013, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.2 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.