During the approach for an attempted forced landing into a clearing near Poulsbo, Wash., the Ercoupe 415C hit trees and then collided with the ground in a nose-down attitude.
The pilot sustained serious injuries during the accident but was able to call 911 on his cell phone. He subsequently died from complications related to his injuries about two weeks later.
Post-accident examination revealed that the engine oil filler cap had not been secured. The oil filler neck and cap were intact and undamaged.
Due to the engine’s design, the engine oil filler cap was located at a low point on the engine. Failure to secure the cap would have resulted in a rapid expulsion of engine oil and a subsequent engine seizure.
An engine examination found damage consistent with oil exhaustion and engine seizure, and the aft section of the engine compartment was coated with oil, which extended out of the cowling and onto the airplane’s belly.
The pilot was operating without a valid medical certificate. The FAA had denied his medical application three years before the accident due to a diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome. Although no evidence was found indicating that this medical condition was a factor in the accident, it likely contributed to the pilot’s death because it hindered his recovery from otherwise nonlife-threatening injuries.
The NTSB determined the probable cause as the pilot’s failure to confirm that the engine oil filler cap was secured before flight, which resulted in oil exhaustion and a subsequent total loss of engine power during cruise flight.
NTSB Identification: WPR14LA100
This January 2014 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
I agree with Jay. Using a CHECKLIST would have prevented this from becoming another statistic against GA. Because if his ignorance for not following a CHECKLIST he is a statistic. You can’t fix stupid
It is disturbing that it seems a very high percentage of accidents (my guess is around 80-90) could be prevented by using the checklist.
Headline is not why the guy died……….. Please do not make statements like that
The reason he died……….. poor decision making…… engine runs out of oil… it is now a glider….. find a flat spot and land……… running out of oil did not kill this guy…………. POOR DECISION MAKING ON HIS PART DID…… and apparently he had a history of making poor decisions (cannot validate that statement with the information available)
The headline is correct. According to the NTSB the ‘defining event’ for an accident is the first major step in the accident chain. In this case it was the pilot’s inadequate preflight and failure to assure the oil cap was secured. Contributing factors were his inability to clear obstacles (trees) following his engine failure that resulted from loss of oil… caused by his failure to assure the cap was in place. One of the affects of his disease related anemia is fatigue. Unknown, but speculatively likely, is fatigue contributed to his inadequate pre-flight. It may also have affected his response to the emergency. He didn’t recall details from the flight, so it’s not possible to say when he became aware of falling oil pressure and rising oil temp (symptoms of pending engine failure). Regardless, a sad outcome.
I really appreciate these short articles on various aircraft crashes. Thank you GAN for doing this, we can all learn from the mistakes of others.
The headline is a bit misleading,” Failure to secure engine oil filler cap fatal to Ercoupe pilot.”
What was fatal to the pilot was the crash due to a failure to execute a successful emergency landing Or, one could conclude that the pilot’s medical condition may have been a significant factor in this being a fatal accident rather than one with serious injury.
“The pilot was operating without a valid medical certificate. The FAA had denied his medical application three years before”
It is not comforting to see this. Of course the main issue is another preventable accident that could have been resolved on preflight.
I’m not advocating violating the regulations requiring a valid medical certificate, but the myelodysplastic syndrome only affected the pilot’s ability to recover from injury in this situation. It did not affect his ability to operate the airplane. Looking up myelodysplastic syndrome on the Mayo website yields no evidence of side effects/complications of the syndrome that would affect the operation of an airplane.