- Date
- March 20, 2008, 14:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Riverside, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N3942HErcoupe 415-D
- Defining event
- Initial climb: Fuel contamination
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 30, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20080320832509A
- Case key
- 67784
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
Water contamination of the fuel system due to the pilot's inadequate preflight and failure to adequately drain the water from the fuel system.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot fueled the airplane, sumped the wing tanks, and departed. The engine lost power at the end of the runway on climb out. He made a forced landing on the grass infield of the airport. The nose wheel went into a gopher hole, and the airplane nosed forward. Post crash examination established that the firewall sustained damage. The pilot reported that he also found water in the gascolator, and that the water most likely got into the fuel system during recent rains. He opined that a more thorough preflight could have prevented the accident.
Factual narrative
On March 20, 2008, about 1430 Pacific daylight time, an Ercoupe 415-D, N3942H, made an off airport forced landing following takeoff from Flabob Airport, Riverside, California. The pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The certificated airline transport pilot was not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall. The personal cross-country flight was en route to Santa Monica, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
The pilot reported that he fueled the airplane with 12 gallons of gas, sumped the wing tanks, and departed from runway 24. The engine lost power at the end of the runway on climb out. He made a forced landing on the grass infield of the airport. The nose wheel went into a gopher hole, and the airplane nosed forward.
Post crash examination established that the firewall sustained damage. The pilot reported that he also found water in the gascolator; he said that it had recently rained. He opined that a more thorough preflight could have prevented the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3942H
- Reported as
- Ercoupe 415-D
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4643
- Engine
- Teledyne Continental C-85, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Franklyn C Freeman
- Registered owner
- Thomas W Wathen Trustee
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- RIR · Riverside, CA
- Destination
- SMO · Santa Monica, CA
- Airport
- RIR · Flabob, runway 24, 3,200 × 50 ft, asphalt
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
- 55
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport, Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2
- Last flight review
- June 1, 2007
- Flight hours
- 2,500 total · 65 in this make and model · 2,350 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.09 inHg
- Observed at
- CNO, 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.