- Date
- July 29, 1997, 15:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Elma, WA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3578HErcoupe 415-C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 4, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970729045469A
- Case key
- 42681
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's inadequate compensation for wind conditions while landing. A factor was the crosswind.
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
After touchdown, the airplane departed the runway about 300 feet from the landing end of runway 25. Winds were 180 degrees at 7 knots. The pilot reported the winds as being 250 degrees at 10-15 knots, gusting to 15-20 knots. The pilot stated that she was landing on a narrow runway. She stated that when the wheels touched down, she realized an apparent wind gust had forced the aircraft to the left of the centerline. As she attempted to steer back to the right, the left wing tip struck adjacent shrubbery.
Factual narrative
On July 29, 1997, approximately 1000 Pacific daylight time, an Ercoupe 415-C, N3578H, sustained substantial damage when the pilot lost control while landing on runway 25 at Elma, Washington. The private pilot and her passenger were uninjured. No flight plan was filed for the local flight, and there was no report of the ELT actuating.
The airplane departed the runway about 300 feet from the landing end of runway 25. Winds were 180 degrees at 7 knots at the time of the accident, according to an FAA source. The pilot reported the winds as being 250 degrees at 10-15 knots, gusting to 15-20 knots.
The occurrence was reported to the FAA on August 20, 1997. A determination that the damage comprised an accident was determined on August 29, 1997.
The pilot stated that she was landing on a narrow runway. When the wheels touched down, she realized an apparent wind gust had forced the aircraft to the left of the centerline. As she attempted to steer back to the right, the left wing tip struck adjacent shrubbery.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3578H
- Reported as
- Ercoupe 415-C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4203
- Engine
- Continental O-200, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Patricia Conroy
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Airport
- WA22 · Elma, runway 25, 2,350 × 30 ft, asphalt
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 120 total · 60 in this make and model · 90 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.