Siler Ronald E ULTRASTAR N4425W

Summary

On 23 July 2014 at about 00:55 local time, a Siler Ronald E ULTRASTAR registered N4425W was involved in an accident near Halifax, Pennsylvania, 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

23 July 2014 at 00:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Halifax, Pennsylvania, United States

Coordinates

40.5028, -76.9039

Aircraft

Siler Ronald E ULTRASTAR

Registration

N4425W

Category

Airplane

Year built

1991

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Halifax → Halifax

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

ERA14LA351

1 person was seriously injured.

A total loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined because the engine was not recovered. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle-of-attack during the forced landing attempt, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and impact with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot had recently finished performing maintenance on the experimental light sport airplane after not having flown it for 3 years. After a series of successful engine run-ups and high-speed taxi tests, the pilot chose to depart on a brief local flight just after sunset. When the airplane reached an altitude of about 200 ft above the ground, the two-stroke engine slowly began to lose power. The pilot subsequently attempted to perform a forced landing to a cornfield, but the airplane slowed, exceeded its critical angle-of-attack, and subsequently entered an aerodynamic stall and impacted the ground, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane and serious injuries to the pilot. The wreckage was not recovered from the accident site and could not be examined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.