# NTSB FTW97LA172: Ercoupe 415-C, N2326H, Canon City, CO, April 27, 1997 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: April 27, 1997, 12:00 local (18:00 UTC) - Place: Canon City, CO - Coordinates: 38.430572, -105.009468 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.4306&lon=-105.0095&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Taxi](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/250) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report August 25, 1997 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 20206 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=FTW97LA172 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/20206/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA172 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate visual lookout. A factor was the pilot's attention being diverted. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - On ground/water collision with object, taxi - to takeoff - object - aircraft parked/standing - visual lookout - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - diverted attention, pilot in command (contributing factor) ## Analysis The pilot said he was taxiing for takeoff when his attention was diverted. He did not say how or why his attention got diverted. The left wing of his airplane struck a parked Cessna 172N, causing his airplane to swerve left. His propeller then sliced through the parked Cessna. In his accident report however, the pilot said he was taxiing to the gas pump when his wing 'bumped' the Cessna. ## Factual narrative On April 27, 1997, approximately 1200 mountain daylight time, an Ercoupe 415-C, N2326H, was destroyed when it struck and substantially damaged a parked Cessna 172N, N737RF, while taxiing for takeoff at Canon City, Colorado. The commercial pilot, the only occupant aboard, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91, and no flight plan was filed. In a telephone interview, the pilot said he was taxiing to runway 29 in preparation for takeoff to Ogallala, Nebraska, en route home to Moose Lake, Minnesota. His attention was diverted, but he did not indicate how or why. The left wing of his airplane struck a parked Cessna 172N, causing his airplane to swerve left. His propeller then sliced through the parked Cessna. Notification of this accident was via an insurance adjuster who had gone to the scene to adjust the loss. When asked why he had not reported the accident to either NTSB or FAA, the pilot said he thought all the necessary notifications had been made. In his accident report, however, the pilot said he was taxiing to the gas pump. As he turned right onto a taxiway, the left wing of his airplane "bumped" a Cessna. N2326H turned left and his propeller "bumped" the wing of the Cessna, causing "little damage to either plane." He said both his airplane and the parked Cessna had been repaired and were currently flying. The insurance adjuster, however, reported N2326H was damaged beyond economical repair and N737RF, the parked Cessna, had sustained substantial damage. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2326H](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2326H), registered now, S/N 2951, built 1946 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Ercoupe (Eng & Research Corp.) 415-C - Registry model: [Ercoupe 415-C](https://openairdocs.org/model/ercoupe-415-c) (registry code 0420322) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental A&C75 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c75-series) (registry code 17005, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 2951 - Airframe hours: 1623 - Engines: Continental C-75-12 75 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: John G. Gebhart - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, December 9, 1996, 78 hours before - Departed: 1V6 - Destination: OGA, OGALLALA, NE - Airport: 1V6, Fremont County ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 83; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 3,000 total, 250 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days, 20 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 20 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 61 °F, dew point 30 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19970427047039A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970427047039A), Apr 27, 1997: Univar 415C, Canyon City, CO, Destroyed. (-16) No regulation on reporting to FAA. Insurance adjuster reported accident to FAA and NTSB late. Struck wing of other aircraft on taxi out. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.