Event ERA25FA253

Factual narrative

On July 2, 2025, about 1300 central daylight time, an Ercoupe 415-C, N93985, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Gallatin, Tennessee. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 positioning flight. According to the owner of the airplane, he purchased the airplane several weeks before the accident flight. He hired a pilot to fly the airplane from the Spirit of St Louis Airport (SUS), St. Louis, Missouri to his home airport, Western Carolina Regional Airport (RHP), Andrews, North Carolina. On the day of the accident flight, the pilot flew from SUS to Washington Regional Airport (FYG), Washington, Missouri to perform three touch and go landings since he did not have any experience in the make and model airplane. After the three landings, he flew to Hopkinsville-Christian County airport (HVC), Hopkinsville, Kentucky for fuel. The pilot topped off the fuel tanks, but the airplane’s engine would not start due to a dead battery. The pilot called the new owner and told him that the airplane had an electrical issue, and he did not feel comfortable flying over the mountains to RHP, so he was going to fly to Clevland Regional Jetport (RZR), Clevland, Tennessee, and drop the airplane off there. The pilot then had someone help hand prop the airplane to get the engine started. According to preliminary air traffic control communication data, the pilot contacted an air traffic controller about 20 minutes after taking off from HVC and told him that the engine was losing rpm and that he needed radar vectors to the closest airport. The controller told the pilot that he was 7 miles away from an airport. The pilot said the airplane would not be able to reach that airport and that he was setting up for an off-airport landing. No more communications were received from the pilot. The wreckage was located in a wooded area and oriented on a magnetic heading of 360°. The accident site was compact, and all major components of the airplane were accounted for. The airplane’s engine and instrument panel fractured off at the main spar and was located under the fuselage. The fuselage was wedged between two trees and resting on the engine and instrument panel. The entire front section of the airplane, from the firewall forward, including the instrument panel, fuel tank and control yokes fractured off from the front of the main spar. It remained attached to the fuselage by electrical wires only. It was located underneath the fuselage and holding the airplane off the ground by 5 ft. The header fuel tank was breached, however about 4 gallons of fuel were removed. During examination of the fuel line to the carburetor the fuel shut off valve was partially closed. When the valve was removed for further examination, it was observed to be about 80% closed. Cable and torque tube continuity was established to all primary flight controls. The aileron hinge connections were impact fractured. The left wing remained attached to the fuselage. The leading edge had tree impression marks down the entire length. The last 2 feet of the wing was bent up by contact with tree branches. The left aileron remained attached to the wing. The left-wing fuel tank was intact. However, the fuel line was fractured off near the B-nut. The fuel tank contained about 4 gallons of fuel. The left main landing gear remained attached and intact. The right wing remained attached to the fuselage. The right-wing leading edge had a tree impression mark about 1 ft from the wing tip. The wing fabric was torn in several places. The right-wing fuel tank was intact. The fuel line was fractured off near the B-nut, however, the fuel tank contained about 4 gallons of fuel. The main right landing gear remained attached and intact. The tail section was bent sideways just forward of the rudder and elevator section. The left rudder was bent in half. The elevator remained attached and was intact. The right rudder was intact. Both wood propeller blades were fractured midspan. The propeller blades were cut about 12 in from the hub to facilitate an engine run. The engine was intact and not damaged. The engine housing that included the instrument panel was strapped to a trailer. A temporary fuel line was plumbed to the carburetor. A battery was connected to the main battery wire. The master switch was turned on and power was applied to the damaged instrument panel. The key was used to turn on the magnetos and push button start switch was used to start the engine. Starter fluid was used to help start the engine due to the primer line being damaged. The engine started and was run at idle for several seconds before being shut down. A full power run was not attempted due to the propeller being cut and the engine being strapped to a trailer. No anomalies noted with the engine, that would have precluded normal operation. Review of the maintenance logbook revealed that the airplane’s most recent annual inspection was completed on October 8, 2024. At that time, the airframe had accumulated 1575 total hours of operation. The engine had accrued 79 hours since major overhaul. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12