- Date
- June 19, 1989, 20:00 local (Jun 20, 1989, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Canaan, CT
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N93765Ercoupe Ercoupe 415C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 25, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890619016649A
- Case key
- 36425
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
An off airport landing in unsuitable terrain due to a power loss, caused by loose parts in the fuel pump.
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 of the Ercoupe 415C was returning to his departure airport when the engine lost power. The pilot could not land on a highway because trees were in his flight path and he landed in a lake. Neither occupant was injured, but the aircraft caught fire and sank. The on scene inspection of the fuel pump showed that several parts of the fuel pump were loose allowing fuel to leak from the pump in flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N93765
- Reported as
- Ercoupe Ercoupe 415C (ERCOUPE 41)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1088
- Airframe hours
- 1,062
- Engine
- Continental C-75, 75 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Curtis W.Hewitt, Jr.
- Registered owner
- Unknown
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- Canaan, CT
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
- 44
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 350 total · 300 in this make and model · 350 as pilot in command · 40 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.