George Felt Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Roseburg, Oregon 97470
Friday, April 22, 2005 16:45 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot-rated passenger (aircraft owner) reported that he did not hold a current medical certificate, therefore the private pilot in the right seat who was current was acting as pilot-in-command, however, the aircraft owner was at the controls at the time of the takeoff. The pilot/owner reported that the pre-flight check and start-up were normal. A magneto check with 1,800 rpm noted that the right magneto dropped about 75 rpm and the left magneto dropped about 100 rpm, which he reported as normal. At the time of takeoff, the aircraft attained an altitude of about 100 feet above ground level, when the engine began to gradually lose power, "like someone pulled the throttle or the throttle linkage broke." The pilot/owner initiated a forced landing to a grape vineyard. During the landing roll, the aircraft experienced a nose gear collapse, the firewall was damaged as well as the leading edge of the wings. The engine was inspected then prepared for an engine run. The engine was found to start right up and a magneto check was accomplished finding that the left magneto produced a 300 rpm drop. The magnetos were then placed on a test bench. Both magnetos produced a spark from all towers up to 3,000 rpm. The ignition harness test found no anomalies. No evidence of a mechanical failure or malfunction was found with the engine.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. High vegetation was a factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/22/2005
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1645
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Roseburg
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97470
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator --
On Ground Collision occurred ? --
Event Location Latitude 431329N
Event Location Longitude 1232349W
Event Location Airport George Felt Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 5S1
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.25
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 428
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 44
Weather Observation Facility ID RBG
Elevation of weather observation facility 529
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 2
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 10
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.76
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) 18384
NTSB Notification Source FAA Regional Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Apr 22 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1730
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 13 2005 12:54PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Hillsboro, Oregon

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2256H
NTSB Number SEA05LA087
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 (Eng & Research Corp.)
Aircraft Model 415-C
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2881
Certified Max Gross Weight 1400
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 Aug 18 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 31
Airframe Hours 1683
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Leroy D. LeBleu
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Roseburg
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97470
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Clyde E. Lloyd
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Roseburg
Operator State OR
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 97470
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Roseburg
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency descent/landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jun 21 2005 5:14PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 28
Runway Length 2300
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --