Ercoupe 415-D accident near Hamilton, MT
On July 18, 2000, an Ercoupe 415-D (airplane) was involved in an accident near Hamilton, MT. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 18, 2000
- Place
- Hamilton, MT
- Aircraft
- Ercoupe 415-D · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 46.159°N, 114.139°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X21611
NTSB summary
On July 18, 2000, approximately 0830 mountain daylight time, an Ercoupe 415-D, N93835, was consumed by fire after a hard landing at Ravalli County Airport, Hamilton, Montana. The student pilot, who was the sole occupant, succumbed to burn injuries about 48 hours after the accident. The aircraft, which was owned and operated by the pilot, was destroyed by the fire. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal pleasure flight is believed to have departed the pilots private airstrip near Missoula, Montana, about 20 minutes prior to the accident. No flight plan had been filed, and there was no report of an ELT activation. The flight was being conducted in visual meteorological conditions. According to numerous pilot-rated witnesses, when the aircraft turned onto final, it had a quartering tailwind of about 10 knots, was landing against the flow of other traffic, and was established at a much lower altitude than would normally be expected. As the aircraft approached the end of the runway, it appeared to dramatically increase its rate of descent and drop onto the runway very hard. According to the FAA Airworthiness inspectors who responded to the scene, the impact was hard enough to collapse the nose gear, damage the firewall, shatter the gasculator bowl, fracture a fuel line fitting, and result in the aircraft bouncing back into the air. It bounced at least 20 feet back into the air, impacted the runway a second time, whereupon flames were seen coming from the belly of the aircraft near the firewall. By the time the aircraft slid to a stop, most of the fuselage was engulfed in flames. Although t
Probable cause
The excessive rate at which the student pilot allowed the aircraft to descend into the runway surface while attempting to land. Factors include the pilot's lack of experience in airplanes.
More accidents in MT
- Pilatus PC-12/45, Mar 22, 2009
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Browse: Montana · Ercoupe aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
