# NTSB CEN24FA312: Engineering & Research Ercoupe 415-C, N3093H, Elkhart, IL, August 7, 2024

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report
- Date: August 7, 2024, 08:00 local (13:00 UTC)
- Place: Elkhart, IL
- Coordinates: 39.98587, -89.47137
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.9859&lon=-89.4714&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Unknown](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/990) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Unknown: Unknown or undetermined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000)
- Highest injury: Fatal
- Injuries: 1 fatal
- Status: Completed, report July 16, 2026
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Central Region
- Parties: FAA
- ADs cited in the narratives: [AD 2002-16-04](https://openairdocs.org/ad/2002-16-04) (OpenAirDocs)
- NTSB case key (mKey): 194886
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN24FA312
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/194886/pdf
- NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194886
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN24FA312

## Probable cause

An off-airport landing in a soybean field for reasons that could not be determined. Contributing to the severity of the pilot’s injuries and airplane damage was a fire that occurred at an unknown time.

## Findings

NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause.

- [Equipment/furnishings: emergency locator beacon](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01022562): Aircraft › Aircraft systems · Failure; cases with it: [Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01022562/cases.md?model=0420312), [All aircraft, 9 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01022562/cases.md)
- [Not determined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000): Not determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determined (probable cause); cases with it: [Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md?model=0420312), [All aircraft, 2,247 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md)

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Unknown: Unknown or undetermined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000) (defining event); cases with it: [Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000/sequence.md?model=0420312), [All aircraft, 1,703 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000/sequence.md)
- [Enroute-cruise: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=0420312), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md)

## Analysis

The pilot was on a multi-leg cross country flight after purchasing the airplane. A friend of the pilot stated that the pilot landed the airplane at an airport on the first evening of the flight and was planning to continue west the next morning. A fuel receipt confirmed that the pilot purchased 16.34 gallons of fuel at that airport. Two days after the flight was supposed to arrive at the final destination, the friend reported the pilot missing. The airplane was not equipped with ADS-B, and it did not have a transponder, so flight track data was not available for the investigation. On the evening that the pilot was reported missing, the airplane wreckage was found in a soybean field about 87 nm west of the last known fuel stop. The main wreckage exhibited heavy thermal damage to the engine compartment, cockpit, and fuselage. The investigation was unable to determine if the fire started before or after impact. Examination of the airframe indicated that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The signatures on the propeller blades indicated that the propeller was likely not rotating at the time of impact and the engine was likely not producing power. Due to thermal damage, rust, and corrosion, the engine and magnetos could not be functionally tested. The investigation was unable to determine whether the engine lost power or if the pilot shut down the engine before impact with the ground. The header tank and left and right fuel tanks were burned and compromised, during the accident sequence, so the fuel amount at the time of the accident could not be verified. However, based upon the fuel receipts, the pilot likely filled the airplane to its full 24-gallon capacity before departing. The airplane’s emergency locator transmitter (ELT) was not transmitting on emergency frequency 121.5 MHz at the time the airplane was located, nor was there evidence of an ELT transmitting in the area in the days before the airplane was located. The airplane was found about an hour after search and rescue was deployed and three days after the accident likely occurred. The pilot was found 18 ft away from the main wreckage and there was a 2 ft wide by 18 ft long trail of vegetation displacement between the main wreckage and his location. The vegetation displacement indicated the pilot was likely alive after the accident and either walked or crawled away from the wreckage and was not ejected upon impact. According to the pilot’s autopsy report, his cause of death was thermal burns. His autopsy identified thermal burns over 80% of his body surface, without evidence of smoke inhalation or airway thermal injury. The autopsy report noted there was no fatal traumatic injury or lethal natural disease found. Based on available evidence, the possibility cannot be excluded that the pilot might have survived long enough after the crash to be transported to a burn center had rescue not been delayed. Regardless, his burnswere very likely to be fatal even with specialized care. A widely used clinical burn mortality prediction tool predicts little to no hope of survival for a 77-year-old patient with 80% body surface area burns. The pilot’s autopsy identified cardiovascular disease, including coronary artery disease and an old area of stroke. This cardiovascular disease was associated with increased risk of an impairing or incapacitating cardiovascular event. There was no autopsy evidence that such an event occurred, but such an event does not leave reliable autopsy evidence if it occurs immediately before death. The old stroke affecting a small area of the brain may or may not have had significant symptoms. The pilot had spine disease and a history of left leg weakness that had affected his ability to operate rudder pedals and foot brakes. His leg weakness would not be expected to directly affect control of an airplane without foot-operated controls, such as the accident airplane. However, chronic pain may have performance-impairing effects. Postmortem toxicology results indicated that the pilot had used the medication gabapentin, which the pilot’s daughter indicated the pilot was taking for back and leg pain. The pilot might have been experiencing associated impairing medication effects such as psychomotor or cognitive slowing at the time of the accident, but the magnitude of any such effects could not reliably be determined from the measured gabapentin level alone. Based upon ground scars and damage to the airplane, it is likely that the pilot attempted a forced landing to the field. The investigation was unable to determine why the pilot performed an off-airport landing in the soybean field. The airplane’s lack of ADS-B and transponder, and the failure of the ELT to activate as designed, delayed the rescue response. However, it is unlikely that the timing of the rescue response affected the survivability of the accident.

## Factual narrative

The pilot purchased the airplane on August 6, 2024, the day before the accident. Logbook records revealed that the engine was overhauled in August 2023 and reinstalled in the airplane in October 2023. An annual inspection of the airframe, propeller, and engine was performed in October 2023. The previous owner made copies of logbook records dating back to 2016 and provided them for the investigation; however, the complete set of logbooks were destroyed in the accident. The mechanic who performed the most recent annual inspection confirmed that Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2002-16-04 was complied with. The actions specified by this AD were intended to prevent failure of the fuel line fittings or the gascolator and thus a lack of fuel to the engine. According to the airplane’s pilot’s operating handbook, the airplane could hold 9 gallons of fuel in each wing tank and 6 gallons of fuel in the header tank for a total of 24 gallons of fuel. The airplane burned about 5.4 gallons of fuel per hour at cruise power. Normal operating speeds were 50 to 114 mph (43 to 99 kts). Logbook records also revealed that, at the time of the last annual inspection, the ELT was tested and a new ELT battery pack (good until November 2025) was installed. According to the mechanic who performed the annual inspection, the ELT was a Narco-10 ELT. The Narco-10 was an FAA Technical Standard Order (TSO) C91 ELT. Since the TSO for C91 ELTs was issued in 1971, unsatisfactory performance associated with the TSO C91 ELT units included dislodgement from aircraft because of impact, inaccurate position determination because of wide frequency tolerance, inadequate requirements for case construction, and inadequate inertia switch design specifications that led to activation failure. In 1985, TSO C91a was issued to correct these deficiencies. However, the FAA permitted TSO C91 compliant ELTs to remain in use if they were tested annually. On August 7, 2024, about 0800 central daylight time, an Ercoupe 415-C airplane, N3093H, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Elkhart, Illinois. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. On August 6, 2024, the airplane departed Roben-Hood Airport (RQB), Big Rapids, Michigan, about 1700 and landed at Vermilion Regional Airport, Danville, Illinois, (DNV) later that evening. A fuel receipt confirmed that the pilot filled the airplane with 16.34 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel at DNV. A friend of the pilot stated that the pilot called him on the evening of August 6 and told him that he was spending the night at DNV and would depart the morning of August 7 to embark on a multi-leg cross country flight that would terminate on August 8 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. When the pilot did not arrive in Colorado Springs, the friend reported him missing on August 10, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an Alert Notice. The airplane was not equipped withADS B, nor did it have a transponder. The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Cell Phone Forensics Team reported that the last cell phone ping from the pilot’s cell phone was near Mount Pulaski, Illinois, at 0759 on August 7. An Illinois CAP aircrew was deployed from DuPage Airport (DPA), West Chicago, Illinois, to the Mount Pulaski area on August 10 and located the airplane wreckage near Elkhart, Illinois, about 11 nm west of Mount Pulaski and 87 nm west of DNV. At the time of the last annual inspection, the airplane was equipped with an ELT that transmitted on the emergency frequency of 121.5 MHz, but there was no ELT transmitting on that frequency at the time the airplane was located, nor was there evidence of an ELT transmitting in that area in the days before the airplane was located. An autopsy was performed by a forensic pathologist at the McLean County Coroner’s Office Regional Autopsy Facility, Bloomington, Illinois, under the authority of the Logan County Coroner. According to the autopsy report, the pilot’s cause of death was thermal burns. The report indicated that the pilot had burns over 80% of his body without soot or thermal injury identified in the airway. The autopsy identified coronary artery disease, with an area of 65% narrowing of the left anterior descending coronary artery, and 30% narrowing of the right coronary artery. The pilot’s autopsy also showed evidence of a prior stroke that affected a small area of the brain in the left basal ganglia. Severe degenerative joint disease of the spine was also identified. Hemorrhages, of the type that may be seen with hypothermia or certain other physiological stressors, were found within the lining of the stomach. A toxicological report revealed positive results for gabapentin, ibuprofen, and salicylic acid in blood and urine. The gabapentin level in heart blood was 7750 ng/mL. Gabapentin is a prescription medication commonly used to treat nerve pain. It may also be used to treat certain types of seizures, restless legs syndrome, and other conditions. Gabapentin may cause sedation and dizziness and can impair coordination and performance of tasks such as operating motor vehicles and heavy machinery. The drug typically carries a warning that users may not be able to accurately assess how sleepy or impaired it makes them, and that they should not operate motor vehicles or complex machinery until they have gained enough experience to determine whether the drug impairs their ability to do so. Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory medication that is widely available over the counter and commonly used to treat pain and fever. Salicylic acid is the primary active metabolite of aspirin, another widely available over-the-counter medication that can be used to control pain and fever, as well as to reduce cardiovascular risk. Salicylic acid is also a metabolite of some other drugs and is used as a topical skin exfoliant in a variety of retail products. Ibuprofen and aspirin/salicylic acid are not generallyconsidered impairing. The pilot was a 77-year-old male and did not hold a pilot certificate. He surrendered his commercial pilot certificate in 2012. The pilot was required to have at least a sport pilot certificate to operate the accident airplane. His last FAA medical examination was for a second-class medical in June 2016. At the time of that examination, the pilot reported his civil flight experience included 5,001 total hours and 38 hours in last six months and that he was not taking any medication. A CAP representative stated that 2 to 6 hours usually elapse from the time they are notified of a transmitting ELT to the time an aircraft is found. The accident airplane was found about 1 hour after search and rescue was deployed. The CAP representative attributed the quick location of the airplane to the cell phone ping information they had. According to the Logan County Sheriff Dispatch, if someone needs air medical services in Elkhart, Illinois, a medical helicopter is dispatched from either Peoria International Airport (PIA), Peoria, Illinois, or Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (SPI), Springfield, Illinois. PIA was about 43 nm from the accident site and SPI was about 22 nm from the accident site. They would then be transported to Springfield Memorial Hospital in Springfield, Illinois, which was the nearest Level 1 trauma center/burn center, located about 20 nm from the accident site. The autopsy indicated that the pilot sustained burns to 80% of his body surface, without evidence of inhalation injury, nor was there any fatal blunt traumatic injury. Hemorrhages were present within the stomach lining of the type that may be seen with hypothermia or certain other physiological stressors. A widely used clinical burn mortality prediction tool is the revised Baux score, which is based on age, burn percentage, and presence or absence of inhalation injury. This tool predicts little to no hope of survival for a 77-year-old patient with 80% body surface area burns. The airplane was found in a soybean field. The debris field was on an east to west heading and was about 140 ft long. The main wreckage came to rest upright on a heading of about 030°, was burned, and consisted of the cockpit, fuselage, right landing gear, left wing, a portion of the right wing, empennage, engine, and propeller. The propeller was still attached to the crankshaft at the propeller flange and was largely intact. One propeller blade was straight and the other propeller blade was thermally damaged. The paint on the tip of the thermally damaged propeller blade melted, and the blade had a slight bend to it. Control cable continuity was established from the control column to the right rudder and right elevator. The left elevator and left rudder were burned and could not be functionally tested. The right elevator contained the elevator trim tab, and it was in the full down (nose-up) position. The left and right ailerons were still attached to their respective wings, and controlcontinuity was established from the control column to both ailerons. The fuel caps for the left and right fuel tanks were firmly attached. The right tank and the header tank were burned, and the left tank was compromised, so the fuel amount at the time of the accident could not be verified. The fuel shut-off valve that would have been located under the instrument panel could not be found in the wreckage, so its position could not be determined. The accessory case melted off the back of the engine. Large pieces of melted metal were found in the debris, but they could not be directly attributed to the carburetor, fuel pump, or oil pump. The magnetos were melted and could not be functionally tested. The engine crankshaft would not rotate due to thermal damage and rust. The engine internal timing could not be determined due to rust and corrosion of the timing mark areas on the crankshaft and camshaft gears. The ELT was not identified in the wreckage. A trail of vegetation displacement extended about 18 ft northeast of the main wreckage to where first responders located the pilot.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N3093H](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3093H-2025-05-31), registration cancelled 2025-05-31, S/N 3718, built 1946 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: ENGINEERING & RESEARCH ERCOUPE 415-C
- Registry model: [Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C](https://openairdocs.org/model/engineering-research-ercoupe-415-c) (registry code 0420312) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Continental C85 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c85-series) (registry code 17008, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 3718
- Year built: 1946
- Airframe hours: 1882
- Engines: Continental C-85-12 85 horsepower reciprocating
- Damage: Destroyed
- Fire: Fire at unknown time
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Special, Special light-sport (Special)
- Last inspection: Annual, October 16, 2023
- Departed: 2R2, Danville, IN
- Destination: COS, Colorado Springs, CO
- Equipment: None

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 77; injuries: fatal; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; seat: front; toxicology performed; flight hours: 5,001 total

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 360° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: 3,100 ft overcast
- Temperature: 68 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter: 29.98 inHg
- Observed at: KSPI, 13 nm away
- METAR: KSPI 071252Z 36006KT 10SM OVC031 20/18 A2998

## Docket (17 files)

The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 16, 2026, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194886. 10.5 MB in all.

- Wreckage examination (item 1, PDF, 5 pages, 110 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=20244399&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CEN24FA312%20Wreckage%20Exam-Rel.pdf
- Engine exam notes (item 2, PDF, 13 pages, 2.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=20245651&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Engine%20Exam%20Notes-1-Rel.pdf
- Photos (item 3, PDF, 9 pages, 3.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19965675&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photo%20Array-1-Rel.pdf
- Maintenance records (item 4, PDF, 1 page, 877 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19966186&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=N3093H%20Annual%20Inspection_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Mor-gasparini (item 5, PDF, 1 page, 63 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19980912&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=MOR-Gasparini-Rel.pdf
- Temperature data (item 6, PDF, 25 pages, 216 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19965818&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Temp%20Data-Rel.pdf
- Fuel receipt (item 7, PDF, 1 page, 44 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19966961&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Fuel%20Receipt%20Danville,%20IL_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Fuel and performance data (item 8, PDF, 3 pages, 170 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19971084&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Fuel%20and%20Performance%20Data-Rel.pdf
- Mor-sheriff dispatch (item 9, PDF, 1 page, 64 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=20158420&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=MOR-Dispatch-Rel.pdf
- Mor-long (item 10, PDF, 2 pages, 69 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=20024877&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=MOR-Long-Rel.pdf
- Mor-wheeler and hall (item 11, PDF, 1 page, 66 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19985022&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=MOR-Wheeler%20and%20Hall-Rel.pdf
- Mor-bordano (item 12, PDF, 1 page, 85 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=20026163&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=MOR-Mechanic-Rel.pdf
- Injury factual report (item 13, PDF, 5 pages, 165 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=20221398&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CEN24FA312_InjuryFactualReport-Rel.pdf
- Toxicological report (item 14, PDF, 1 page, 176 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19955164&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=toxocology_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Airworthiness directive 2002-16-04 (item 15, PDF, 4 pages, 283 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19954066&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=AD-Rel.pdf
- Statement of party representatives to NTSB investigation (item 16, PDF, 2 pages, 1.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19683492&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Signed%20Party%20Forms_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Release of aircraft wreckage, NTSB form 6120.15 (item 17, PDF, 2 pages, 1.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19966340&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Wreckage%20Release%202-18-26_Redacted-Rel.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.

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