I saw tonight that the NTSB final report came in last month on the Ercoupe crash that killed Randy Hougham and his passenger back in April. He was the fellow who tracked down his grandfather's Ercoupe and purchased it and got his sport pilot license to fly it. It was a real tragedy.
>From the report, it looks like he tried to make it to a golf course that was just a little too far away while flying low with the engine sputtering. They couldn't determine the cause of the engine problem, but did mention that there were several suitable fields for a forced landing that were closer and in several directions that he didn't try to make. This reiterates what my first flight instructor taught me years ago. Pick the best suitable field that you are certain you can make, and stick with it, don't try to stretch it out where there is a chance you won't make it. Knowing what the winds below you are doing can certainly help you as well. The report says that they were flying from west to east, and the weather report nearby said the wind was 7 knots from 200 degress. They said there were open fields north, south and west of them. Here is the link: http://www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/brief2.asp?ev_id=20090413X85336 <http://www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/brief2.asp?ev_id=20090413X85336&ntsbno=CEN09FA243&; akey=1> &ntsbno=CEN09FA243&akey=1 Marty Duke N846MD KRNT
