- Date
- August 20, 1996, 20:10 local (Aug 21, 1996, 01:10 UTC)
- Place
- Cambridge, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3607HErcoupe 415-C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 25, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960820023419A
- Case key
- 10374
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 failure to maintain control of the airplane while landing. A factor associated with the accident was the downdraft reported by the pilot.
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 reported the airplane encountered a downdraft during the landing which caused the airplane to descend to terrain impact.
Factual narrative
On August 20, 1996, at 2010 central daylight time, an Ercoupe 415-C, N3607H, operated by a private pilot, collided with the terrain following a loss of control while landing at a private airstrip in Cambridge, Illinois. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged and the pilot was not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight originated from the private airstrip at 1940 cdt.
The pilot stated that during the landing the airplane encountered a downdraft causing it to collide with the terrain. Winds reported at Moline, Illinois (20 miles northeast of the accident site) were calm.
The pilot has not returned a completed NTSB Form 6120.1/2 to this office as of the completion of this report.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3607H
- Reported as
- Ercoupe 415-C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4232
- Engine
- Continental AC-75, 75 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Boyd L. Wheatley
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Destination
- IL50
- Airport
- IL50 · Boyd Wheatley'S Farm Arpt
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
- 77
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 1,350 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MLI, 20 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.
Other investigations on N3607H · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.