History of Flight
On April 11, 2009, at 1450 central daylight time, an Engineering and Research 415C (Ercoupe), registration N87384, was destroyed by a post-crash fire after impacting terrain about one mile north of Woodlake Airport (IS65) in Sandwich, Illinois. The sport pilot and a passenger received fatal injuries. The airplane was operated under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight in the Light Sport Category. It departed IS65 at approximately 1435 for a local flight in visual meteorological conditions; no flight plan was filed.
The accident flight was the second flight of the day. The first flight, lasting about an hour with a different passenger, was reported as normal with no problems. Shortly after landing, the pilot departed on the second flight with another passenger. Witnesses observed the airplane depart to the northwest, and the engine sounded normal.
Approximately fifteen minutes after departure, witnesses saw the airplane flying from west to east at very low altitude. One witness, living about 2 miles northwest of IS65, reported the airplane in a descending turn, losing altitude, flying directly over his house, then east over Buck Lake. The engine was “spitting and sputtering,” and the airplane flew very low. Numerous golfers at Edgebrook Golf Club, east of Buck Lake, observed the airplane just above treetop level, with the engine sputtering and producing abnormal power. Witnesses saw the wings moving up and down, and some reported the airplane hitting treetops in woods east of the golf course. The airplane then pitched up and impacted a field in a steep nose-down attitude facing south.
A homeowner about 200 yards north heard the airplane approaching with popping engine noises, heard the impact with trees, and saw the airplane hit the ground in a steep nose-down attitude. A fire started immediately after impact, consuming the wing fabric; the tail eventually fell back to the ground.
Personnel and Aircraft Information
The 53-year-old pilot held a sport pilot certificate with a single-engine land rating. His logbook, partially consumed by fire, indicated a total of about 163 flight hours. Flying under Sport Pilot rules, he was not required to hold an FAA medical certificate.
The airplane was a single-engine Engineering and Research 415C (Ercoupe), serial number 557, manufactured in 1946. It was equipped with an 85-horsepower Continental C-85-12F engine, had two seats, and a maximum gross weight of 1,260 pounds. The airplane was manufactured without rudder pedals. The pilot purchased it in April 2005. The engine was overhauled in June 2006, and the right wing fuel tank was repaired in September 2006. The last annual maintenance inspection was conducted on June 5, 2008; at that time, the airframe had 1,951 total hours, and the engine had 1,824 total hours with 193 hours since major overhaul. Flight hours after that inspection were not determined due to fire damage.
Meteorological Conditions
At 1452, the surface weather observation at Aurora Municipal Airport (ARR), 11 miles northeast of the accident site, reported: wind 200 degrees at 7 knots, visibility 10 statue miles, sky clear, temperature 11°C, dew point -6°C, altimeter 30.31 inches of mercury.
Wreckage and Impact
The airplane impacted an east-west oriented field about 3/4 mile long. The impact site was 90 feet east of woods on the east side of the golf course. All wreckage was at the initial impact point, with the fuselage oriented on a 210-degree magnetic heading. The post-crash fire consumed much of the engine compartment, cockpit, and wing fabric. The fuselage fuel tank was found next to the engine.
The right wing’s leading edge exhibited aft crushing along its span, with the wing spar bent aft. Flight control cables for the aileron and flap showed continuity. The right landing gear remained attached. The right wing fuel tank remained attached and showed fire damage.
The left wing’s spar was not bent aft. The left wing leading edge had a large dent approximately 50 inches from the outboard edge of the left fuel tank to center, 23 inches long, and 12 inches deep. Aileron and flap cables had continuity. The left landing gear remained attached. The left wing fuel tank, also fire-damaged, provided a fuel sample during recovery; the color was consistent with 100 low lead aviation fuel, with minimal sediment and water contamination.
The empennage was not consumed by fire and showed minimal impact damage. The horizontal stabilizer and twin vertical stabilizers remained intact. The left rudder control cable exhibited continuity; the right rudder control cable also showed continuity, but the rudder control tube was found broken.
Engine inspection revealed that the engine rotated when the propeller was turned, with compression and suction on all four cylinders and drive train continuity. The right magneto was completely melted. Spark plug wires were consumed. The top four spark plugs were removed with no anomalies noted. The carburetor was broken by impact forces and could not be tested.
Numerous hardwood tree branches, about 1.5 inches in diameter, were found at the accident site, some charred by the fire. Broken tree limbs were present at the tops of trees at the edge of the tree line 90 feet east of the impact site.
Medical Information
An autopsy of the pilot conducted on April 13, 2009, listed the cause of death as “Carbon monoxide intoxication and thermal injuries due to inhalation of smoke and soot sustained as the pilot of an airplane involved in an airplane mishap.” A forensic toxicology report detected 39% carbon monoxide, 0.92 µg/mL cyanide, no ethanol, and 0.199 µg/mL bupropion in the blood; bupropion and its metabolite were also found in the liver, with 0.792 µg/mL of the metabolite in the blood.
Additional Information
The fractured right rudder control tube was examined at the NTSB Materials Laboratory. The fracture surface showed a faceted appearance consistent with intergranular fracture along grain boundaries, with no features of fatigue.
A map study of the terrain near the flight path indicated open fields to the north, south, and west, suitable for an emergency forced landing, and closer than the field where the airplane crashed.