- Date
- August 3, 1988, 17:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Auburn-Lewiston, ME
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N169WSErcoupe 415C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 24, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880803034939A
- Case key
- 36204
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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.
Miscellaneous/other
Tie down - not usedCause
Preflight planning/preparation - poorFactor
Starting procedure - improperCause
On ground/water collision with object
Object - aircraft parked/standing
Analysis
The student pilot of an Ercoupe 415C hand-propped the aircraft with no one at the controls and the tail not tied down. The engine started and the Ercoupe struck a parked, unoccupied, tied down Cessna 170.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N169WS
- Reported as
- Ercoupe 415C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 856
- Engine
- Continental C-85-12, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- David Moss
- Registered owner
- David Moss
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Airport
- LEW · Auburn-Lewiston Muni
N169WSRegistered now · Engineering & Research 415-DAirframe modelEngineering & Research 415-DEngine modelContinental C85 series
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 10 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.