ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 18803
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| Date: | Sunday 13 August 1967 |
| Time: | 10:38 LT |
| Type: |  ERCO 415-CD Ercoupe |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | G-AKFC |
| MSN: | 4784 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Halfpenny Green Airfield, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | |
| Halfpenny Green, Wolverhampton (EGBO) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
The first Ercoupe in the UK was serial number 4784, a model 415-CD, manufactured in 1947 and registered as G-AKFC on 29 August 1947. The original US registration was NC7465H. Before reaching the UK it was sold in Belgium and registered OO-ERU on 25 July 1947 with C of R No.702 to Intair, Antwerp.
Just a month later it was in the UK registered G-AKFC to the Secretary, Ministry of Supply. Following a spell with the RAE (Royal Aircraft Establishment) Farnborough with serial number VX147, it moved to the A&AEE (Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment) Boscombe Down May 1949 for evaluation and report on the unique Ercoupe control system.
The Ercoupe was loaned to Lettice Curtiss (who was with the Civil Aircraft Testing Section) in July 1949 for use in the Grosvenor Challenge Trophy, held on the 1st August at Elmdon. VX147 completed the course at a record speed of 112.5 mph and was awarded a prize of twenty pounds for the fastest aircraft weighing less than 500kg!
From June 1950 it was loaned to British European Airways for trials, still as VX147, being returned to Boscombe Down in August the same year. Although operating with serial VX147, the civil marks G-AKFC were never officially cancelled.
VX147 was "struck off charge" on 17 January 1952 and as G-AKFC it was registered to Aviation Traders. Just over three years later on 7 May, 1955 it was registered to Blackpool & Fylde Aero Club. A year later it was registered to C.W.Morley, at Southend and in 1958 registered to S.V.Parkin. It was then sold in October 1962 and registered to D.W.Smith, Denham, and then again in December 1965 to N.Brooke.
Sadly, on 13 August 1967 the aircraft crashed at Halfpenny Green aerodrome, near Stourbridge. On approach, after a local flight, the aircraft struck a tree 300 yards from the end of runway 29 at 10 38 a.m., G.M.T. Lloyd's reported that damage was sustained to the main spar, undercarriage, fuselage, propeller and nose. The pilot, the only occupant, was not seriously injured. G-AKFC was then belatedly cancelled as written off 2nd April 1973.
Sources:
1. http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-AKFC-3.pdf
2. http://www.mike_willis.dsl.pipex.com/EEN/EEN3.html
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ERCO_Ercoupe
4. http://www.ercoupe-be.net/OO-ERU.htm
5. http://www.iaopa.eu/mediaServlet/storage/gamag/dec11/p40-42.pdf
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-May-2008 11:10 | ASN archive | Added |
| 25-Nov-2012 18:09 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Nature, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative] |
| 04-Aug-2015 18:43 | TB | Updated [Operator, Embed code] |
| 07-Aug-2015 22:07 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
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