Ercoupe (Eng & Research Corp.) 415-C accident near Olustee, Oklahoma, May 6, 1998
On May 6, 1998 at about 1:35 am local time, a Ercoupe (Eng & Research Corp.) 415-C, registered N87125, was substantially damaged in an accident near Olustee, Oklahoma (Olustee Muni airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's improper decision to attempt an 180 degree turn to return to the takeoff runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 6, 1998 · about 1:35 am local time
- Place
- Olustee, Oklahoma · Olustee Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Ercoupe (Eng & Research Corp.) 415-C
- Registration
- N87125 · no longer on the register · serial 298
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot with a passenger onboard, had completed 2 or 3 touch and go landings to runway 35. During the following takeoff, while turning left crosswind, the aircraft 'shuddered' and entered what the pilot believed was a 'slip stall.' He 'vaguely' remembered struggling to recover the aircraft from the stall and seeing the end of the runway over his left shoulder and thinking 'we have got to get back over there.' Subsequently, the aircraft impacted the ground. The wreckage path was oriented on a magnetic heading of 130 degrees, and the airplane came to rest approximately 320 feet from the departure end of runway 35. No structural or mechanical anomalies were observed during an examination of the airplane. According to the FAA Southwest Region Flight Surgeon, the blood alcohol concentration of 0.044% detected at the hospital and the 0.029% detected at the Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI) 'may have affected the pilot's performance, but he would not have been impaired.'
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 35 hours in all; 35 in this make and model; 25 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,327 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 12, 1997; 60 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,400 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental C-85-12 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: F09 at 1:30 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 2,000 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:55 am from LTS, 12 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.