- Date
- December 29, 1989, 09:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- Lizton, IN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N3871HErcoupe 415-CD
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 25, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891229054309A
- Case key
- 14613
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
Selection of unsuitable terrain by the pilot and his failure to abort the takeoff. Factors related to the accident were: interpersonal relations of the pilot, terrain condition and fence on or near the airstrip, the pilot's lack of experience in the type of aircraft, and his failure to attain airspeed.
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 pilot stated that during an attempted takeoff he 'applied full power, airplane travelled across three areas of snow....failed to obtain flying speed...contacted fence and ditch.' The runway in use was a 1,550 foot long, snow-covered grass strip; the pilot stated 'I knew better, and I should have waited for better runway conditions. I just screwed up.' The pilot was attempting to remove his aircraft from his ex-wife's property because he was 'concerned with damage to aircraft by other parties....' The commercially certificated pilot indicated a total flight time of 1,600 hours, of which 1,500 hours were in single-engine aircraft. He reported three hours flight time in the accident make and model aircraft, all within the preceding 90 days.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3871H
- Reported as
- Ercoupe 415-CD
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4572
- Engine
- Continental C-75-12, 75 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Orr, Roy A.
- Registered owner
- Alcorn, Stephen C
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- NONE · Lizton, IN
- Airport
- NONE · Haffner, runway 21, 1,550 × 100 ft, grass/turf
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
- 35
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,600 total · 3 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 14,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 32 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- IND, 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.