- Date
- July 20, 1996, 16:54 local (23:54 UTC)
- Place
- Page, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2915HErcoupe 415-C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 16, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960720018869A
- Case key
- 29517
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
decision of the pilot to operate the airplane with an inoperative transfer pump and inaccurate fuel consumption calculations.
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 he ran out of fuel and the plane lost power about 5 miles from the airport. The pilot completed a forced landing off the airport on a narrow dirt road. The pilot stated that the fuel transfer pump was inoperative and he was unable to transfer fuel from the wing tanks to the fuselage tank, which supplies fuel to the engine.
Factual narrative
On July 20, 1996, at 1654 hours mountain standard time, an Ercoupe 415-C, N2915H, collided with some high vegetation and the terrain after an in-flight loss of power near the Page, Arizona, airport. The airplane was being operated as a personal flight under 14 CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. The airplane sustained substantial damage and the pilot was not injured. The flight originated from the Kayenta Airport, Kayenta, Arizona, about 1600 hours. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time.
The pilot indicated to the Page airport manager that the fuel transfer pump was inoperative and he was unable to transfer fuel from the wing tanks to the fuselage tank, which supplies fuel to the engine. The pilot departed Grants, New Mexico, earlier in the day and flew about 1 hour, landed, and transferred the fuel. He indicated that he had previously landed at Ganado, Arizona, and Kayenta, and planned to land at Page.
The pilot reported that he ran out of fuel and the plane lost power about 5 miles from the airport. The pilot landed on a narrow dirt road. The road cut through uneven terrain and the left wing struck vegetation on the higher shoulder of the road during the landing roll. The airplane veered left off the road and damaged the airplane's left wing and tail cone.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2915H
- Reported as
- Ercoupe 415-C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 3540
- Airframe hours
- 2,255
- Engine
- Continental C85, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ted Payne
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 16, 1996 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- 0V7 · Kayenta, AZ
- Destination
- PGA
- Airport
- PGA · Page Municipal Airport
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
- 66
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 600 total · 50 in this make and model · 600 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PGA, 1 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.