Amateur-built SKY RANGER accident near Easton, Maryland, June 20, 1987
On June 20, 1987 at about 2:10 pm local time, a amateur-built SKY RANGER, registered N4925S, was destroyed in an accident near Easton, Maryland (Easton airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 20, 1987 · about 2:10 pm local time
- Place
- Easton, Maryland · Easton · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SKY RANGER
- Registration
- N4925S · no longer on the register · serial 830051
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER TAKING OFF ON A TEST FLT, THE PLT REMAINED IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN & WAS ON DOWNWIND WHEN THE ENG SURGED OR SPUTTERED, THEN LOST POWER. SOON THEREAFTER, THE ACFT ENTERED A STEEP DSCNT & CRASHED. THE EXPERIMENTAL, HOME BUILT ACFT HAD ONLY 11 HRS OF FLT TIME. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE AIRFRAME WAS FND. HOWEVER, DISASSEMBLYOF THE ENG REVEALED THE BREAKER POINT MOUNTING PLATE & MACHINE SCREWS (BOLTS) WERE LOOSE. THE BOLTS HAD BACKED OUT OF THE THREADED HOLES & WERE BENT. ONE BOLT WAS LODGED BTN THE FLYWHEEL & THE ENG HOUSING, RESTRICTING ROTATION. THE LOOSE BREAKER POINT MOUNTING PLATE WAS PART OF THE IGNITION SYS. IT HAD BEEN INSTALLED ON THE ENG HOUSING WITH 2 BOLTS, WASH- ERS & LOCK WASHERS. RPRTDLY, THE LOCK WASHER(S) HAD BECOME FLAT, INDCG LOSS OF ELASTICITY (LOCKING ABILITY). PREVIOUSLY,THE FLT CTL SYS HAD INSUFFICIENT ELEV CTL AT HI & LOW PWR SETTINGS; TO CORRECT THIS, AN ELEV SPRING WAS INSTALLED & THE ELEV CABLE ATTACHMENT BRACKET WAS REPOSITIONED, BUT THE PREIMPACT COND OF THE ELEV CTL SYS WAS NOT VERIFIED.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 105 hours in all; 8 in this make and model; 8 in the last 90 days; 8 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, August 27, 1986; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 503 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 22, 4,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds; not recorded
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 pm from SBY
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.