| Crash location | 45.722778°N, 87.093611°W |
| Nearest city | Escanaba, MI
45.841353°N, 87.174303°W 9.1 miles away |
| Tail number | N142NV |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 02 Aug 2018 |
| Aircraft type | Gerald Dan Coppock Bade-E |
| Additional details: | None |
On August 02, 2018, about 1900 eastern daylight time, a Gerald Dan Coppock BABE-E homebuilt experimental airplane, N142NV, registered to the pilot/builder, sustained substantial damage during a runway excursion following a loss of directional control while landing at the Delta County Airport (ESC), Escanaba, Michigan. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed. The local personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Federal Code of Regulations Part 91. The flight originated from ESC about 1830..
According to the pilot, he was landing on runway 01 at ESC and the airplane touched down normally. During the rollout, the airplane veered to the left once the tailwheel contacted the runway. Both wingtips contacted the runway surface and the airplane ground-looped. The airplane came to rest, nose down and the pilot exited the airplane. According to ESC METAR weather, reported winds about the time of the accident were 330 at 5 knots.
Inspection of the airplane after the accident revealed that the right steering cable chain was broken and hanging from the tailwheel. It is undetermined if the cable break was caused prior to or during the accident sequence.