Steve, I can't quantify any of this. IMHO, accident records are very poorly kept.
To add to that, a very large percentage of forced landings do not cause damage and thus are not "accidents" that are reported. My -5˚ gas-line- ice forced landing is one such. http://ercoupe.org/EOC2006/Fly-in%20Reports/Gas-line-ice.htm I would observe that, of the Coupe forced landings, few seem to involve fire. Most involve no damage or a bending back of the nose gear purely through bending of the engine mount and, maybe, the lower firewall. Having said that, if you ram your plane into hard objects at a high speed, you could rupture a fuel tank. JUST DON'T DO THAT! That's true of an Ercoupe with a header tank, the wing tanks in a Coupe (which are not separated from the fuselage) or the header tank in many classics or the wing tanks in many other planes - high and low wing. And, even a ruptured fuel tank doesn't guarantee a fire. Then there's the aspect that it's possible to exit a Coupe VERY fast by just standing up right THROUGH the sliding side windows - they'll pop out or break out. Try that in a Cessna, Cherokee, Tri-Pacer or Colt or Luscombe. The worst case is trying to take off in hot, high density altitude conditions with excess weight. We lost the Ercoupe Owners Club president and the pilot with whom he was riding in just such an accident about 30 years ago. They didn't get off, they hit the far end on the ground at almost flying speed and there was a fire. That was horrendous. Yet, having watched Ercoupes and Aircoupes over the last 30 years, I'd say the number of accidents involving fire **seems** to be **very** low. Like with ANY aircraft, if you encounter the ground as slowly as possible, and even more importantly at an attitude resembling a landing attitude, Coupes (like most other planes) do a pretty good job of taking care of you. As Bill pointed out, the fuel system of the Coupes was very well designed in a way that one of the most common causes of forced landings (fuel mismanagement) rarely occurs and really takes special ability. Fuel stoppages of any kind are somewhat less common on Coupes due to the excellently designed fuel system. That doesn't mean it can't happen to you or me on the next flight. In a Coupe, like any other airplane, keep a landing spot in mind at all times. Do I "worry" about fire in Coupe accidents? Not really - except I'm **very** attentive to gross weight and takeoff conditions due to our president's fatal accident so long ago - just as I would be, now, in any aircraft I flew. Flying may not really be safer than driving to the airport. It is pretty safe for something that is so amazingly rewarding. JMHO Ed Ed Burkhead http://edburkhead/Ercoupe/index.htm ed -at- edburkh???ead . com (change -at- to @ and remove ??? and spaces)
