On February 12, 2006, an Ercoupe 415-C (registration N93788) was involved in an aviation accident near Arlington, WA. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's excessive descent rate and his delay in taking action to reduce the descent rate which resulted in an in-flight collision with the runway during an emergency landing. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
After lunch, pilot had difficulty restarting the engine. On takeoff, oil pressure read zero. During emergency landing, left wing struck the ground. Cause undetermined.
Incident Details
According to the pilot, earlier in the afternoon, he flew the airplane from one airport to another, and he and his passenger had lunch at the destination airport. The pilot reported that he experienced "some difficulty restarting the plane" for the return trip. After "several tries," he was able to restart the engine. The pilot stated that he did not recall checking the engine oil pressure after restarting the engine. After takeoff on runway 34, the pilot "noticed that the oil pressure indicated 0." He reduced power and maneuvered the airplane for an emergency landing on runway 11. During the turn to final, the airplane "lost altitude," and the pilot attempted to stop the descent by adding power, but the left wing struck the ground.
Pilot Statement
The pilot reported that about 6 months before the accident, "there were several incidents where the oil pressure failed to come up after a stop for lunch. After mechanics replace[d] the oil pressure relief valve, this had not been a problem." The reason for the loss of oil pressure on the accident flight was not determined.