Maarten H Versteeg ZENITH 601XL(B) N581SL

Summary

On 16 December 2013 at about 22:34 local time, a Maarten H Versteeg ZENITH 601XL(B) registered N581SL, operated by Versteeg Maarten H, was involved in an accident near Leakey, Texas, 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 December 2013 at 22:34

Classification

Accident

Location

Leakey, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Read County (49R)

Coordinates

29.7196, -99.7606

Aircraft

Maarten H Versteeg ZENITH 601XL(B)

Registration

N581SL

Category

Airplane

Operator

Versteeg Maarten H

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Leakey → San Antonio

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN14LA087

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane after the canopy opened on takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to properly secure the canopy latch before takeoff.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, shortly after the airplane departed the runway, the canopy popped open, which caused a large amount of drag, so he pushed the nose of the airplane over to gain airspeed. The airplane subsequently landed hard on the runway. Data extracted from the airplane's primary flight display revealed that the canopy latch became unsecured about 14 seconds into the 18-second flight. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical anomalies with the canopy latch that would have precluded normal operation. It is likely that the pilot failed to properly secure the latch before takeoff.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.