# NTSB SEA00LA136: Ercoupe 415-D, N93835, Hamilton, MT, July 18, 2000 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 18, 2000, 08:30 local (14:30 UTC) - Place: Hamilton, MT - Coordinates: 46.159229, -114.139526 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.1592&lon=-114.1395&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed, report May 18, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 51327 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA00LA136 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/51327/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA00LA136 ## Probable cause The excessive rate at which the student pilot allowed the aircraft to descend into the runway surface while attempting to land. Factors include the pilot's lack of experience in airplanes. ## Analysis Although the person piloting the aircraft had recently been issued a third class medical/student pilots certificate, he had not received instruction in an airplane for over 20 years, and did not have an endorsement to fly an airplane solo. Nevertheless, he undertook a flight to reposition the aircraft from his private airstrip to the location where he planned to take flight instruction. While attempting to land at that location, the pilot allowed the aircraft to contact the runway while in an excessive rate of descent. The impact was hard enough to collapse the nose gear, damage the firewall, shatter the gasculator bowl, fracture a fuel line fitting, and result in the aircraft bouncing back into the air. The aircraft then hit the runway hard a second time, whereupon it slid along the surface with flames emanating from the aft area of the engine compartment. By the time the aircraft came to a stop, much of the forward half was engulfed in flames. Although the pilot was able to exit the aircraft unassisted, he later succumbed to the extensive thermal injuries he sustained during the accident sequence. ## Factual narrative On July 18, 2000, approximately 0830 mountain daylight time, an Ercoupe 415-D, N93835, was consumed by fire after a hard landing at Ravalli County Airport, Hamilton, Montana. The student pilot, who was the sole occupant, succumbed to burn injuries about 48 hours after the accident. The aircraft, which was owned and operated by the pilot, was destroyed by the fire. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal pleasure flight is believed to have departed the pilots private airstrip near Missoula, Montana, about 20 minutes prior to the accident. No flight plan had been filed, and there was no report of an ELT activation. The flight was being conducted in visual meteorological conditions. According to numerous pilot-rated witnesses, when the aircraft turned onto final, it had a quartering tailwind of about 10 knots, was landing against the flow of other traffic, and was established at a much lower altitude than would normally be expected. As the aircraft approached the end of the runway, it appeared to dramatically increase its rate of descent and drop onto the runway very hard. According to the FAA Airworthiness inspectors who responded to the scene, the impact was hard enough to collapse the nose gear, damage the firewall, shatter the gasculator bowl, fracture a fuel line fitting, and result in the aircraft bouncing back into the air. It bounced at least 20 feet back into the air, impacted the runway a second time, whereupon flames were seen coming from the belly of the aircraft near the firewall. By the time the aircraft slid to a stop, most of the fuselage was engulfed in flames. Although the pilot was able to exit the aircraft unassisted, he suffered significant thermal injuries during the accident sequence. The individual piloting the aircraft had been issued a student pilot certificate/third class medical on May 1, 2000, about 75 days prior to the accident, but according to family members had not received instruction in an airplane for at least 20 years. He did not have a current endorsement to fly an airplane solo. He had accumulated about 100 hours of ultralight flying time, but had not flown in the subject aircraft since he purchased it about a month before the accident. According to family members, the pilot was planning to take flying lessons from an instructor at Ravalli County Airport, and they suspect that this flight was his attempt to reposition the aircraft to that location. A post-accident inspection of the aircraft revealed no evidence of anomalies or malfunctions in the operation of the engine or the flight control system. By request of the pilot's relatives, no autopsy or toxicological study was performed on his remains. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - flare/touchdown - descent - excessive, pilot in command (cause) - lack of experience, pilot in command (contributing factor) - Fire, landing - roll - fuel system,gascolator - ruptured - fuel system,line fitting - fractured ## Aircraft - Registration: [N93835](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N93835-2000-09-13), registration cancelled 2000-09-13, S/N 1158 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Ercoupe 415-D - Registry model: [Ercoupe 415-D](https://openairdocs.org/model/ercoupe-415-d) (registry code 0420326) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 1158 - Airframe hours: 1090 - Engines: Continental C-85-12C 85 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Roy A. Wilhelm - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, September 24, 1999 - Departed: NONE, MISSOULA, MT - Destination: 6S5 - Airport: 6S5, Ravalli County Airport, runway 34, 4,200 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 68; student; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 220° at 10 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 64 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20000718007259A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000718007259A), Jul 18, 2000: Univar 415D, Hamilton, MT, No damage, 1 fatal. (-23) On 7/18/00 at approx. 0800 MDT, an Ercoupe 415-D, N93835, registered to roy a. wilhelm, crash landing on the runway while making a down-wind landing at… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.