Engineering & Research Ercoupe 415 N87172 accident near Atlanta, Georgia

Probable cause

The pilot's loss of airplane control, which resulted in a hard landing.

NTSB analysis

The flight was being conducted by the private pilot/owner and an airline transport-rated pilot; it was the airplane's first test flight after an annual inspection and the reinstallation of the wings. The private pilot/owner reported that, after the airplane took off and became airborne, it banked hard left, and the other pilot took control. The other pilot stated that he had to apply full right rudder and aileron to maintain level flight. He climbed the airplane to 400 ft with full power and turned back to land on the departure runway. Once the airplane was over the runway, the pilot reduced the power, and the airplane again banked left. The pilot made a correction, and the airplane then banked right and landed hard next to the runway.

A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical deficiencies that would have precluded normal operation of the flight controls. The owner also reported that there were no mechanical problems with the airplane. He suggested that the wing attachments may have partially given-way, but no evidence was found indicating that this occurred.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA15LA379 for the full record.