Wow! There's a rarity. Not often the NTSB doesn't cite some sort of
pilot error involved in an accident investigation.
Glad you were not hurt and there was no post crash fire!
Dan C
On May 11, 2009, at 2:13 PM, Andy Anderson wrote:
I am a survivor of a flip over "unplanned" landing. My windows were
down,
but I could not get out of the plane until a couple of fellows who
witnessed
the accident came running over and lifted the wing. There was
simply not
enough space to crawl out until one wing was lifted. Similar
situation to
the one mentioned. The nose wheel dug into soft ground and the forward
momentum caused it to flip.
*** Note Since this accident, runway over run safety areas have
been added
at HRO.
*** Note 2 - It is my belief that my throttle linkage broke (it was
broken
at the carburetor) but it could not be determined if the broken
linkage
happened before or after impact with the ground.
Andy Anderson
N93609 & Former owner of badly damaged and now deceased N2899H
----------------------------------------------------------
NTSB Narrative:
NTSB Identification: FTW97LA296 .
The docket is stored in the Docket Management System (DMS). Please
contact
Records Management Division
Accident occurred Friday, August 01, 1997 in HARRISON, AR
Probable Cause Approval Date: 5/4/1998
Aircraft: Ercoupe (Eng & Research Corp.) ERCOUPE 415-C,
registration: N2899H
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
The pilot was performing his fourth touch-and-go at the airport
when the
engine lost power just after takeoff, approximately 150 feet AGL,
and a
forced landing was executed on airport property. The pilot was
unable to
land straight ahead due to REILs located at the end of the runway.
The pilot
elected to land the airplane on a taxiway that extends to the east
of the
departure end of the runway. The pilot banked the airplane to the
left,
while descending, to align the airplane with the taxiway. The pilot
reported
that the propeller continued to windmill during the forced landing.
The
airplane contacted the taxiway and traveled 40 feet before exiting
onto the
grass. The airplane traveled an additional 150 feet at which point
the nose
gear 'dug in[to the ground].' Subsequently, the airplane came to rest
inverted. The reason for the loss of engine power could not be
determined.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable
cause(s) of
this accident as follows:
The total loss of engine power for an undetermined reason. A factor
was the
lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
