Private Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

West Jefferson, Ohio 43140
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 19:50 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane impacted trees and terrain during takeoff about 500 feet from the departure end of a private grass airstrip during a personal flight that was en route to obtain fuel at the destination airport. The airplane wings were crushed rearward along the leading edge, the empennage was separated from the airframe, and the firewall was wrinkled. The airplane was not equipped with shoulder harnesses. The pilot sustained serious injuries that included a broken right arm and left leg and the passenger sustained serious facial and ankle injuries. Examination of the airplane revealed there was no usable fuel in either wing tank and header tank. Also, there was no residual fuel in the header tank to engine fuel lines. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the airplane's center of gravity, with no usable fuel aboard, was aft of its limit. The pilot's fight review and medical certificate were expired at the time of the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The improper preflight planning/preparation by the pilot and the loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion during takeoff. Contributing factors were the pilot’s expired flight review and airman medical, the aircraft weight and balance exceeded by the pilot, and the trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/23/2008
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1950
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City West Jefferson
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 43140
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 395111N
Event Location Longitude 0931620W
Event Location Airport Private
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PVT
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Unknown
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 --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) --
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency --
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 24171
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 28 2008 3:01PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N94413
NTSB Number CHI08CA208
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Ercoupe
Aircraft Model 415-G
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 5045
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft --
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 1 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Pilot
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City --
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City London
Operator State OH
Operator Country USA
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 --
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City West Jefferson
Departure State OH
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code UYF
Destination City London
Destination State OH
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 26 2008 4:32PM
User who most recently changed record DINC
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 36
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --