Ercoupe 415 N3538H

Summary

On 6 October 2017 at about 18:15 local time, a Ercoupe 415 registered N3538H was involved in an accident near Centre Hall, Pennsylvania, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 October 2017 at 18:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Centre Hall, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Penn's Cave (N74)

Coordinates

40.8903, -77.6022

Aircraft

Ercoupe 415

Registration

N3538H

Category

Airplane

Year built

1946

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Centre Hall → Dover

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA18LA007

Nobody was injured.

The partial loss of engine power due to the No. 2 cylinder exhaust valve being stuck.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot reported that, after takeoff, he climbed the airplane to 200 ft above ground level, at which point it experienced an "appreciable" loss of engine power, the flight controls became "sluggish," and the airplane would no longer climb. He noted that the engine was operating about 275 rpm below the nominal full-power setting of 2,275 rpm at takeoff. The pilot chose to conduct a forced landing to a field directly off the departure end of the runway. During the landing roll, the airplane struck fences, which resulted in substantial damage to both wings. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the No. 2 cylinder exhaust valve was stuck in the open (compressed) position without rocker-arm contact. The valve remained in the open position through several rotations of the crankshaft. The stuck exhaust valve would have resulted in the partial loss of engine power and the airplane's inability to climb.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.