Just as I was closing up at work an Ercoupe flew over head. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then one of my employees called and said an airplane just crashed just up the street!!! I didn't take him serious, thinking he was pulling my leg. I took my time, closed up and left work. What the heck, I drove to the end of the street just to check things out. Then I saw an Ercoupe in the corner of a clear cut. I talked to the Sheriff that was there and he said the pilot all ready was off to the hospital. My neighbors saw it get lower and lower and banked over the trees into the clear cut.

Look at all the oil on the bottom of the fuselage


Another view........lots of oil


The neighbors said he came over the tall trees on the right and dropped into the clear cut, coming straight at you. They didn't see the impact. I suspect he landed and flipped on his back. Hitting the L wing first.


The pilot found his cell phone in the messy cockpit and called 911. Gave his lat/long to dispatch. Fire and Rescue hiked in and took him out. My neighbor said he had a head/face injury. I am unsure if the plane had shoulder harnesses.


It looks like he was heading east bound when the engine had a catastrophic failure. Rather than go into the heavy timber he quickly did a 180 degree left hand turn to get back to the clear cut he just passed over. That set him up for Base. Dropping over the tall trees he turned left on Final and landed along the tree line. On landing the plane flipped over on its back. Probably left wing hitting the ground on landing.

N2076H Registered to Curtiss Kent. Not sure if he is the pilot or not but kudos to him for pulling this one off and coming out alive.
Good job!!!

Sam

I've flown a few Ercoupes, looked at a lot of them, never saw one with a shoulder restraint. That doesn't mean someone couldn't put one in. What they do have is a very strong rollover support right behind the seat in the rear of the sliding canopy. It looks like this one held up pretty well.

I hope the pilot makes a full recovery.

It looks like it was well cared for aircraft. Maybe you can track down the pilot after he recovers and give the crash pictures to him/ her. I am sure they would greatly appreciate it.

Wow, lucky man !

Another plane sometimes criticized as being slow, shows the advantage of that slowness when crashing!

Thanks for sharing. Wow. There is a local aircoupe I see fly and I swear it goes slower than a hot air balloon drifting by. Glad pilot was able to go to hospital.

Sad news, just saw this article posted today saying the pilot has passed.
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2014/feb/ ... z2tGRiDcng

vaughans

Sorry to hear that! Will be praying for his loved ones!

Here's the NTSB report,
On January 20, 2014, about 1540 Pacific standard time, an Ercoupe 415 C, N2076H, collided with trees near Poulsbo, Washington, under unknown circumstances. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, the owner under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The commercial pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward fuselage and both wings. The local flight departed Auburn Municipal Airport, Auburn, Washington, at an unknown time. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.

The Kitsap County Central Communications Center received a 911 call from the pilot about 1545, stating that he had been involved in an airplane accident. Emergency response personnel responded to the accident site, and located the pilot outside of the airplane sitting by the cabin window. Due to the nature of his injuries, he could not recall the circumstances of the accident, reporting only that he had left Auburn earlier in the day.

The airplane came to rest inverted, and was located within a small clearing, surrounded in all directions by 50-foot-tall trees. It sustained crush damage to the upper fuselage from the firewall through to the tailcone forward bulkhead. The right wing remained attached at the root; the left wing sustained leading edge crush damage and was folded back about 45 degrees. The airplane's belly was coated in a layer of brown-colored oil from the louvered lower lip of the engine cowling, through to the tailcone.

The "small clearing" mentioned in the report is like a 40 acre clear cut.
I'm really saddened at the news that he didn't make it. Especially since he did such a great job getting it down. Was really hoping for a much happier outcome. Our family will be praying for his family and loved ones.

Here's the NTSB report,
On January 20, 2014, about 1540 Pacific standard time, an Ercoupe 415 C, N2076H, collided with trees near Poulsbo, Washington, under unknown circumstances. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, the owner under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The commercial pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward fuselage and both wings. The local flight departed Auburn Municipal Airport, Auburn, Washington, at an unknown time. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.

The Kitsap County Central Communications Center received a 911 call from the pilot about 1545, stating that he had been involved in an airplane accident. Emergency response personnel responded to the accident site, and located the pilot outside of the airplane sitting by the cabin window. Due to the nature of his injuries, he could not recall the circumstances of the accident, reporting only that he had left Auburn earlier in the day.

The airplane came to rest inverted, and was located within a small clearing, surrounded in all directions by 50-foot-tall trees. It sustained crush damage to the upper fuselage from the firewall through to the tailcone forward bulkhead. The right wing remained attached at the root; the left wing sustained leading edge crush damage and was folded back about 45 degrees. The airplane's belly was coated in a layer of brown-colored oil from the louvered lower lip of the engine cowling, through to the tailcone.

The "small clearing" mentioned in the report is like a 40 acre clear cut.
I'm really saddened at the news that he didn't make it. Especially since he did such a great job getting it down. Was really hoping for a much happier outcome. Our family will be praying for his family and loved ones.