Dennis Cantrell Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Conway, Arkansas 72032
Friday, May 31, 2002 14:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The engine lost power after takeoff at an altitude of 150-200 feet. The pilot stated that the engine RPM's went from full, down to 800 RPM's. After pulling up over power lines at the end of the runway, he maneuvered the airplane into a hay field. Subsequently, the hard landing resulted in structural damage to the fuselage.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. Factors were the pilots necessity to avoid a power line during the emergency descent and the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/31/2002
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Conway
Event State ARKANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 72032
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 350450N
Event Location Longitude 0922529W
Event Location Airport Dennis Cantrell Field
Event Location Nearest Airport ID M03
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 90
Airport Elevation 315
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 22
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 70
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.9
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13080
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date May 31 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1659
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 29 2003 4:26PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Little Rock, Arkansas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N94769
NTSB Number FTW02LA168
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Ercoupe
Aircraft Model ERCO-415-E
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 234
Certified Max Gross Weight 1650
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 7 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 15
Airframe Hours 5000
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Dr. Webb Sentell
Aircraft Owner Street Address 649 Millicent Way
Aircraft Owner City Shreveport
Aircraft Owner State LA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 71106
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code M03
Departure City Conway
Departure State AR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1359
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code M03
Destination City Conway
Destination State AR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Feb 10 2003 1:13PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 36
Runway Length 3278
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --