Striplin LONE RANGER SLVR CLD N4478Y

Summary

On 29 October 1997 at about 22:15 local time, a Striplin LONE RANGER SLVR CLD registered N4478Y was involved in an accident near Agua Dulce, California, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 October 1997 at 22:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Agua Dulce, California, United States

Nearest airport

Agua Dulce (L70)

Coordinates

34.4308, -118.5093

Aircraft

Striplin LONE RANGER SLVR CLD

Registration

N4478Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Leona Valley

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX98LA026

1 person had minor injuries.

Failure of the propeller system/drive assembly, and the pilot's failure to maintain flying speed, which resulted in a stall and subsequent impact with the ground. Inadequate maintenance/inspection of the propeller system was a contributing factor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that about 500 feet AGL the engine began to shake violently. His attempts to reduce the vibration by reducing the power were unsuccessful. He did not have enough altitude to return to the airport, and performed a forced landing to a vacant field. A flight crew from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department responded to the accident site and interviewed the pilot. He reported that the engine began to lose power after takeoff and he headed toward a field just south of the crash site. The pilot stated that he was too high and fast to land in the field and he turned around to land downwind. He said that at 30 feet AGL, the airplane stalled, fell to the ground, and nosed over. Witnesses reported that they heard an aircraft over fly their homes producing strange noises. They saw the aircraft make an abrupt turn to land and the landing gear struck the ground. The gear collapsed and the aircraft nosed over onto its back. The pilot/owner/builder reported that the drive belt had rolled forward out of the pulley in the belt reduction drive unit, which induced the vibration and caused a loss of drive power to the propeller.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.