Ercoupe (Eng & Research Corp ) 415-C N99044

Summary

On 26 May 2002 at about 18:00 local time, a Ercoupe (Eng & Research Corp ) 415-C registered N99044 was involved in an accident near Hinton, Oklahoma, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

26 May 2002 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Hinton, Oklahoma, United States

Coordinates

35.5058, -98.3422

Aircraft

Ercoupe (Eng & Research Corp ) 415-C

Registration

N99044

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Anadarko → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW02LA160

2 people had minor injuries.

Fuel exhaustion due to a fuel cap leak. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During cruise flight, the pilot observed that the center fuel tank quantity gauge indicated "zero." The pilot looked at the left wing filler cap and observed fuel siphoning out of the tank. Subsequently, the engine lost power, and the pilot executed a forced landing to pasture. During the landing roll, the airplane impacted a two-foot deep four-foot wide ditch. Examination of the aircraft revealed visible evidence of fuel siphoning from the fuel filler cap to the wing trailing edge was found. The fuel cap was found secured and no anomalies were noted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.