[ercoupe-tech] Fwd: Kim's Ercoupe crash

[kim Blackseth]

I want to thank all of you for the kind words and encouragement. My family and I cannot tell you how much your support means. My emotions and frustrations have been very mercurial. I have taken the advise of many of you and am trying to "let the dust settle" and see where I am before any decisions are made, but I thought I'd update you as to what I know now...

1. The FAA and NTSB have officially called it an "accident" vs an "incident". This means way more reports and an investigation. They will be tearing the engine down and trying to determine the cause. I think that's a good thing. I really want to know what happened.

2. The plane has been moved to Plane Parts, a storage and salvage operation near Sacramento. The investigation will happen there.

3. I did have some insurance. It's never enough, but it's a good start. After my major rebuild was completed in September, I put a $20K policy on the hull, etc. Not near what I invested in this plane, but better than nothing.

4. The preliminary damage assessment the insurance company completed, reveal the firewall was buckled, the prop (new) was bent and the new 0-200 was running when the plane hit and is likely seriously damaged. The new engine mounted and new front landing gear was torn off. It's almost sure (their words) the plane will be totaled by the insurance company.

It's too early now, but it seems likely that if I want to continue flying, and I do, I'll probably have to buy another plane and do my "disabled" modifications again. As my wife pointed out, the upside is all of the trial and error engineering is complete, I now know exactly what works and what I need. The first time there was 3 years of trying things, redoing, refining, etc before I found a solutions.

Any advice on working with the insurance company, the NTSB and FAA are welcome...

Kim Blackseth, ICC, CASp
310 17th St
Oakland, CA
510-839-1760



On Jan 15, 2010, at 6:23 PM, Linda Abrams wrote:

Cal 'Coupers,

The Ercoupe owned by Kim Blackseth -- and highly modified by him to accommodate his disability -- was damaged in a crash this week. Kim was not in it at the time, and no one was hurt, but the plane is damaged. Photos are attached as a pdf, and Kim's story is pasted below. From the look of it, it's going to need replacement parts, particularly at the front end. I have asked Kim to get a list together of what he's going to need, but in the meantime, I'm alerting you all to keep in mind what may be needed and give some consideration to any parts you've got sitting around, and how you might help.

Kim's determination, ingenuity & perseverance in getting his 'Coupe modified, and in being the first quadriplegic to get licensed to fly, has been an inspiration to many. Until we have a list of what's needed, in the meantime we can at least offer him our encouragement to carry on & continue flying.

Linda

Unfortunately my plane (N2332H) crashed shortly after takeoff
yesterday afternoon at Napa Airport. No one was injured, but the
plane is severely damaged.

The engine stopped producing power at about 300' shortly after take

off to a flight to Calavaras Airport. It was being flown by a friend

who walked away, but he was pretty shook up. It was too low to "turn
back", so he put it down in a field/marsh about 1/4 mile from the
airport (see pictures below).

The plane had been recently rebuilt completely from "stem to stern"
and had a new 0-200 Continental engine.  The new engine had about 40
hours and was working perfectly until late Weds afternoon. On Weds
the engine "stuttered" a few times and was quickly landed.

On Tuesday morning I called the A/P mechanic who built the new engine

and does most of the work on the plane. He flew down from Calaveras
with his tools and assistant to check the plane to make sure it was
safe before anyone flew it again.

He arrived (Paul David from David's Aviation) and checked the engine
carefully. It ran up fine, good oil pressure, good temp, etc.  No
sign of any problem. He said he suspected carb icing and proclaimed
it safe to fly.  He did see a small oil leak and said he would like
to take it to his hanger, fix the leak and make "double sure" there
were no other issues.

After assuring us it was safe, my friend agreed to fly it to David's
Aviation in Calaveras. As I was at work, my friend, Josh Grey agreed
to fly it. He took off and at 300' high or so it stopped making
enough power to climb, but was still running.  There was no altitude

to turn and little time to do anything but look for a place to put it

down.

As the photos show, its badly damaged. I'm very grateful no one was
hurt.

As most of you know, I'm disabled and spent the better part of three
years re-building and modifying the plane to work for my disability
(C-6 quad). I got my Private Pilot Certificate one year ago almost
exactly.

It's likely this will end my flying, as the resources and energy I

(and my friends and family) put in this plane were tremendous and I'm

not sure where they would come from to replace the plane. I'm pretty
disappointed and depressed this morning, but thankful no one was
hurt....

Kim Blackseth, ICC, CASp
310 17th St
Oakland, CA
510-839-1760

<photos of Kim Blackseth's Coupe Crashed.pdf>