- Date
- October 15, 1995, 15:15 local (19:15 UTC)
- Place
- Cartersville, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3027GForney ERCOUPE-2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 27, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19951015035799A
- Case key
- 37930
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-in-command's decision to continue flight with the inoperative fuel transfer pump which resulted in loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. The inoperative fuel transfer pump and the unsuitable terrain encountered during the forced landing were factors.
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 private pilot stated that the engine lost power due to fuel starvation, because the transfer pump was inoperative and he could only utilize the fuel in the header tank. He stated to the FAA inspector that the fuel pump had failed earlier in the day. He refueled his fuselage tank and did some touch-and-go landings. He then headed towards another destination to refuel and the engine lost power and he executed a forced landing to a field. During the final approach the nose wheel clipped a barbed wire fence which drove a fence post into each wing and spun the airplane around. The airplane then slid approximately 30 yards into a four foot ditch damaging the engine and the airframe.
Factual narrative
On October 15, 1995, about 1515 eastern daylight time, N3027G, an Ercoupe ER-2 crashed in Cartersville, Georgia, while on a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The airplane was substantially damaged and the private pilot reported no injuries. The flight had originated about 40 minutes earlier.
The pilot stated that the engine lost power due to fuel starvation, because the transfer fuel pump was inoperative and he could only utilize the fuel in the header tank. He stated to the FAA inspector that the fuel pump had failed earlier in the day. He had stopped to refuel his fuselage tank and then did some touch-and-go landings at Cedar Falls. He headed towards Cartersville to refuel and the engine lost power and he executed a forced landing to a field. During the final approach the nose wheel clipped a barbed wire fence which drove a fence post into each wing and spun the airplane. The airplane slid about 30 yards into a 4 foot ditch, damaging the engine and airframe.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3027G
- Reported as
- Forney ERCOUPE-2
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 5722
- Airframe hours
- 2,064
- Engine
- Continental C-90-12F, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Dane T Velie
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 6, 1994 · 74 hours before
- Departed
- 4A4 · Cedartown, GA
- Destination
- VPC · Carterville, GA
- Airport
- VPC · Cartersville
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
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 263 total · 154 in this make and model · 219 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MCN
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.