# NTSB WPR24LA158: Engineering & Research Ercoupe 415-C, N99577, Ontario, OR, May 21, 2024 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report - Date: May 21, 2024, 12:15 local (18:15 UTC) - Place: Ontario, OR · airport environment - Coordinates: 44.0215, -117.00966 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.0215&lon=-117.0097&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing: Collision during takeoff/land](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious - Status: Completed, report June 10, 2026 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 194306 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR24LA158 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/194306/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194306 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR24LA158 ## Probable cause The non-certificated pilot’s unstable approach to landing, which resulted in a collision with approach lighting, hard landing, and postimpact fire. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=0420312), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: landing flare](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041/cases.md?model=0420312), [All aircraft, 1,285 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: descent/approach/glide path](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062040): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062040/cases.md?model=0420312), [All aircraft, 809 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062040/cases.md) - [Experience/qualifications: qualification/certification](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02031010): Personnel issues › Experience/knowledge · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02031010/cases.md?model=0420312), [All aircraft, 280 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02031010/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing: Collision during takeoff/land](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490) (defining event); cases with it: [Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490/sequence.md?model=0420312), [All aircraft, 1,309 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490/sequence.md) - [Landing: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092); cases with it: [Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md?model=0420312), [All aircraft, 2,102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md) - [Post-impact: Fire/smoke (post-impact)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/170); cases with it: [Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/170/sequence.md?model=0420312), [All aircraft, 354 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/170/sequence.md) ## Analysis The accident flight was the non-certificated pilot's first flight in the airplane, which the pilot had recently purchased and taken possession of on the day of the accident. The airplane was on a steep approach as the pilot attempted to land and hit an approach light short of the runway threshold. The airplane then bounced and struck another set of lights before landing hard on the runway. Subsequently, the airplane came to rest on the runway and a postimpact fire ensued. A witness who arrived at the scene of the accident stated that the pilot told him that he had misjudged the landing. A witness reported that the pilot conducted a steep approach to land, consistent with an unstable approach. The airplane was not available for examination following the accident, and whether a mechanical anomaly contributed to the accident could not be determined. The investigation was unable to determine the extent of the non-certificated pilot’s previous flight experience or whether the pilot had received any formal or informal flight instruction. ## Factual narrative On May 21, 2024, about 1215 Pacific daylight time, an Engineering & Research Ercoupe 415-C airplane, N99577, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Ontario, Oregon. The non-certificated pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. A certified flight instructor who was in an airplane holding short of runway 15 reported that the airplane was on a steep approach as it attempted to land and struck an approach light short of the runway threshold. The airplane then bounced and struck another set of lights before landing hard on the runway. Subsequently, the airplane came to rest on the runway, and a postimpact fire ensued. The airplane sustained substantial thermal damage to the fuselage, and the pilot sustained serious burn injuries. Another witness who arrived at the scene of the accident stated that the pilot told him that he had misjudged the landing. Subsequently, the airplane was destroyed in a postaccident fire. The wreckage was removed from the runway but was disposed of before the airframe and engine could be examined by the FAA or NTSB. The pilot was not a certificated pilot and did not hold a current FAA medical certificate, nor did he have a current medical; the FAA reported that he was denied a medical certificate about six years before the accident. Multiple attempts were made to contact the pilot; however, those attempts were unsuccessful while the pilot was recovering in a burn unit and under anesthesia. The pilot did not provide a statement to the FAA or NTSB after he was released from the hospital, nor did the pilot submit a National Transportation Safety Board Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report Form 6120.1. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N99577](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N99577), registered now, S/N 2200, built 1946 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: ENGINEERING & RESEARCH ERCOUPE 415-C - Registry model: [Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C](https://openairdocs.org/model/engineering-research-ercoupe-415-c) (registry code 0420312) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental A&C75 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c75-series) (registry code 17005, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 2200 - Year built: 1946 - Engines: Continental AC 75 reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Airport: ONO, Ontario Muni, runway 15, 5,006 × 100 ft, asphalt - Equipment: Unknown ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 80; injuries: serious ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 280° at 7 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Temperature: 66 °F, dew point 28 °F - Altimeter: 30.07 inHg - Observed at: KONO - METAR: KONO 211853Z AUTO 28007KT 10SM CLR 19/M02 A3007 RMK AO2 SLP183 T01941022= ## 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 20240521006699A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240521006699A), May 21, 2024: Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C, Ontario, OR, Destroyed. Pilot was on final approach at too steep of an angle. Aircraft struck approach light before the threshold lines. Damage was sustained to nose gear. Aircraft… ## Docket (4 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 10, 2026, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194306. 319 KB in all. - Mor - FAA inspector (item 1, PDF, 1 page, 66 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=20336587&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=MOR%20158%20Inspector-Rel.pdf - Mor - witness statements (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 70 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=20336487&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Witness%20Statements-Rel.pdf - Accident photo (item 3, PDF, 2 pages, 120 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=20336507&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Accident%20Photo-Rel.pdf - Mor - iic (item 4, PDF, 1 page, 63 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=20336741&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=MOR%20IIC-Rel.pdf 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.