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FTW92LA139

1992-05-21 · VAN, Texas, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Current FAA registration · N3454H

Make / Model
ERCOUPE 415-CD
Year of manufacture
1948 · 44 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR C85 SERIES (85 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19550909
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A3D2CD

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

FUEL EXHAUSTION ENGINE POWER LOSS DUE TO THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO REFUEL. A FACTOR WAS THE LACK OF SUITABLE TERRAIN AVAILABLE FOR THE FORCED LANDING.

Factual narrative

DURING CRUISE FLIGHT THE PILOT EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER DUE TO FUEL EXHAUSTION. WHILE ATTEMPTING A FORCED LANDING TO AN OPEN FIELD, THE AIRPLANE FLEW UNDER POWER LINES AND COLLIDED WITH THE LOWER SET OF WIRES. THE WIRES SEVERED THE RIGHT ELEVATOR CAUSING A LOSS OF CONTROL. THE FAA COORDINATOR FOUND NO FUEL IN THE AIRPLANE AND SAW NO EVIDENCE OF FUEL SPILLAGE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1992_FTW92LA139.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (loss of control, fuel exhaustion). All research papers