# NTSB CEN15LA177: Ercoupe 415 C, N87EV, St Jacob, IL, March 7, 2015 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: March 7, 2015, 15:00 local (20:00 UTC) - Place: St Jacob, IL - Coordinates: 38.732776, -89.806663 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.7328&lon=-89.8067&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Approach-VFR go-around: Fuel contamination](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/193) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report August 25, 2015 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 90906 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN15LA177 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/90906/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=90906 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN15LA177 ## Probable cause The loss of engine power during the go-around due to fuel contamination. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid condition (probable cause); cases with it: [Ercoupe 415-C, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md?model=0420322), [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Approach-VFR go-around: Fuel contamination](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/193) (defining event); cases with it: [Ercoupe 415-C, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/193/sequence.md?model=0420322), [All aircraft, 225 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/193/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Ercoupe 415-C, 7 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=0420322), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Ercoupe 415-C, 10 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=0420322), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that he was flying the accident airplane under a ferry permit to the destination airport. However, due to unsafe runway conditions at the destination, he chose to land at an alternate airport nearby. Upon arrival at the alternate airport, the pilot executed an aborted landing. He applied engine power and climbed the airplane to about 150 to 200 ft and then the engine lost power without any warning. During the forced landing, the airplane sustained substantial wing and firewall damage. During a postaccident engine run using the header tank fuel from the accident flight, the engine started, ran roughly, and would not accelerate smoothly. The header tank was drained, and fresh aviation fuel was added to the tank; the engine then ran smoothly and accelerated normally. The engine likely lost power due to contaminated fuel. ## Factual narrative On March 7, 2015, about 1500 central daylight time, an Ercoupe 415-C airplane, N87EV, impacted terrain during a forced landing following a loss of engine power during a go-around near the St Louis Metro-East Airport/Shafer Field (3K6), St Jacob, Illinois. The private pilot was uninjured. The airplane sustained substantial firewall and wing damage. The airplane was registered to an individual and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a ferry flight. Day visual flight rules conditions prevailed for the flight, which did not operate on a flight plan. The flight originated from the A Paul Vance Fredericktown Regional Airport (H88), near Fredericktown, Missouri, about 1400.The pilot stated in his accident report that he was flying the accident airplane under a ferry permit from H88 to Sackman Field Airport (H49), near Columbia, Illinois. However, due to unsafe runway conditions at H49, 3K6 was chosen as an alternate airport. Upon arrival at 3K6, the pilot executed an aborted landing. He applied engine power and climbed about 150-200 feet. The engine lost power without any "coughing" or warning. At 1358, the recorded weather at the Scott Air Force Base/MidAmerica Airport, near Belleville, Illinois, was: Wind 230 degrees at 2 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; sky condition clear; temperature 18 degrees C; dew point 1 degree C; altimeter 30.13 inches of mercury. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the accident airplane. He observed that the fuel exiting from the header fuel tank was not aviation gasoline. The inspector observed the accident airplane during a subsequent engine run. The engine started, ran rough, and it would not accelerate smoothly when it was fed fuel from the header tank containing fuel from the accident flight. The header tank was drained and fresh aviation gasoline was added to the tank. The engine ran smoothly and accelerated normally. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N87EV](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N87EV), registered now, S/N 958, built 1946 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: ERCOUPE 415 C (C) - Registry model: [Ercoupe 415-C](https://openairdocs.org/model/ercoupe-415-c) (registry code 0420322) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental A&C75 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c75-series) (registry code 17005, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 958 - Year built: 1946 - Airframe hours: 2411 - Engines: CONT MOTOR A&C75 SERIES 75 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Ferry, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, March 25, 2015 - Departed: H88, FREDERICKTOWN, MO - Destination: 3K6, St Jacob, IL - Airport: 3K6, St Louis Metro-East, runway 13, 2,662 × 50 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 48; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review May 1, 2014; seat: left; restraint: lap only; flight hours: 456 total, 6 in this make and model, 9.3 in the last 90 days, 4.8 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 230° at 2 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 64 °F, dew point 34 °F - Altimeter: 30.12 inHg - Observed at: KBLV, 11 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20150307002789A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20150307002789A), Mar 7, 2015: Ercoupe 415-C, Saint Jacob, IL, Substantial damage. The pilot, [privacy data omitted] stated that on Saturday March 7, 2015 at or around 1330 CST, he departed the fredericktown, Missouri airport (H88) on a ferry… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 16, 2015, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=90906. 2.1 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 2.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40425135&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Communication Summary (item 2, .PDF, 78 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40425136&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Communication%20Summary-Master.PDF 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. --- 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.