Warrington SURREL GUPPY N4425W

Summary

On 16 July 2000 at about 20:30 local time, a Warrington SURREL GUPPY registered N4425W was involved in an accident near Churchville, Maryland, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 July 2000 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Churchville, Maryland, United States

Nearest airport

Harford County (0W3)

Coordinates

39.5594, -76.2400

Aircraft

Warrington SURREL GUPPY

Registration

N4425W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC00LA198

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall. Factors in this accident were an open canopy and a decrease in engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

After a normal takeoff and lift-off, the pilot noticed the engine tachometer indicated 2,900 rpm, instead of the normal 3,450 rpm. Additionally, the corner of the airplane's canopy became dislodged. The pilot was unable to secure the canopy, and felt he would have 'no problem making a gentle left turn to land on a parallel runway;' however, during the turn, about 50 feet above the ground, he became 'distracted and stalled' the airplane about 300 feet short of the runway. The airplane was equipped with a 4-cycle Kohler, model CH25S lawn mower engine. A hole was found in the right cylinder rocker box cover, and 'some debris and filings' were observed on the right cylinder exhaust valve.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.