- Date
- June 18, 2003, 11:20 local (16:20 UTC)
- Place
- Atwood, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N94327Ercoupe 415-C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA-Springfield FSDO
- Case key
- 57260
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 selection of an unsuitable landing area and his improper decision to continue the approach without the airport and runway clearly in-sight. Factors contributing to the accident were the pilot's disorientation, the transmission wires, and the road sign.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane was substantially damaged when it impacted wires and a roadway sign during an off airport landing. The pilot reported he was flying into an unfamiliar airport and lost sight of the runway while in the traffic pattern. The pilot stated he confused a road for the airstrip and struck the wires and a road sign while landing. The pilot indicated the airplane "spun" about 300 feet into a cornfield before coming to a stop.
Factual narrative
On June 18, 2003, at 1120 central daylight time, a Ercoupe 415-C, N94327, owned and operated by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage when it impacted wires during an off airport landing near Atwood, Illinois. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot reported no injuries. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was not operating on a flight plan. The flight departed from Coles County Memorial Airport, Mattoon, Illinois, at 1045, with an intended destination of Cooch Landing Area Airport (IL31), Atwood, Illinois.
The pilot reported he was following a group of other aircraft into IL31. He stated he had never flown into IL31 before and was unfamiliar with the area. The pilot noted, "I lost sight of the aircraft ahead of me on the downwind leg and never saw the airstrip. I extended my downwind leg to give the other plane time to land. On my final [approach] leg I still did not see the [airport]. ... Ahead I saw what I thought was the airstrip going at an angle from the road."
The pilot stated he saw the power poles but "was told the wires were underground at the field." The pilot noted the airplane struck the wires during approach. The left wing subsequently hit a road sign, causing the airplane to spin into a cornfield. It came to a stop about 300 feet from the road. The pilot reported he was "convinced [the road] was the airstrip [he] was headed for."
The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures during the accident flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N94327
- Reported as
- Ercoupe 415-C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1550
- Airframe hours
- 2,115
- Engine
- Continental C-75, 75 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 24, 2002 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- MTO · Mattoon, IL
- Destination
- IL31 · Atwood, IL
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
- 75
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- June 19, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 500 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- CMI, 15 nm away
Other investigations on N94327 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.