- Date
- September 27, 1991, 15:02 local (19:02 UTC)
- Place
- Emmett, MI
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N99283Ercoupe Ercoupe 415-D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910927043499A
- Case key
- 14921
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 exceeding the design limits of the aircraft, which resulted in an inflight breakup.
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
A student pilot took off in his personal airplane on his second flight of the day to practice for a private pilot checkride. He had about 120 hours total flight time, 80 in model. About 20 minutes later, witnesses heard the engine accelerate. One heard a sound like and explosion. The airplane entered a steep spiral to ground impact. The pilot was thrown from the airplane. Airplane debris fell at distances up to 3000 feet away. The empennage and right wing showed failure under positive load.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N99283
- Reported as
- Ercoupe Ercoupe 415-D (ERCOUPE 41)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1906
- Airframe hours
- 2,347
- Engine
- Continental C-85-12-F, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Clute, Robert G.
- Registered owner
- Clute, Robert G.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 23, 1991 · 52 hours before
- Departed
- PHN · Port Huron, MI
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
- 37
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 123 total · 82 in this make and model · 80 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MTC, 23 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.