Accident Details
On August 10, 2024, at approximately 2000 central daylight time, an Ercoupe 415-C, registration N3093H, was found in a soybean field near Elkhart, Illinois. The pilot sustained fatal injuries, and a post-impact fire destroyed the airplane. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
Flight History
The airplane departed Roben-Hood Airport (RQB) in Big Rapids, Michigan, on August 6, 2024, at about 1700, and landed at Vermilion Regional Airport (DNV) in Danville, Illinois, around 1900. A fuel receipt confirmed that the pilot filled the airplane with 16.34 gallons of fuel at DNV. According to a friend of the pilot, the pilot called on the evening of August 6, stating he would spend the night at DNV and depart the morning of August 7 for a multi-leg cross-country flight expected to terminate in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on August 8. When the pilot did not arrive, the friend reported him missing on August 10, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to issue an Alert Notice (ALNOT).
Search and Recovery
The airplane was not equipped with Automated Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) nor an operating transponder, making tracking after departure from DNV difficult. The Civil Air Patrol Cell Phone Forensics Team determined that the last cell phone ping from the pilot’s phone occurred near Mount Pulaski, Illinois, at 0759 on August 7. An Illinois Civil Air Patrol aircrew deployed to the Mount Pulaski area on August 10 located the wreckage approximately 11 miles west of Mount Pulaski.
Wreckage Examination
The debris field extended on an east-west heading and was about 140 feet long. Approximately 45 feet after vegetation displacement, the right wing taxi light was found, followed by the spinner 41 feet to the west. A back window, left landing gear, and tail cone were located 29 feet west of the spinner. About 31 feet south of that group, a 3-foot section of the outboard side of the right wing was discovered. The main wreckage, consisting of the fuselage, right landing gear, left wing, a portion of the right wing, empennage, engine, and propeller, came to rest upright on a heading of about 030°, heavily burned. The airplane was retained for further examination.