Mds Fying ZENITH ZODIAC CH 650 N419PE

Summary

On 30 December 2014 at about 18:20 local time, a Mds Fying ZENITH ZODIAC CH 650 registered N419PE, operated by MDS Flying LLC, was involved in an accident near Fort Pierce, Florida, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 December 2014 at 18:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Pierce, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

St Lucie County Intl (FPR)

Coordinates

27.4972, -80.3725

Aircraft

Mds Fying ZENITH ZODIAC CH 650

Registration

N419PE

Category

Airplane

Year built

2014

Engines

1

Operator

MDS Flying LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Pierce → Fort Pierce

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA15LA087

Nobody was injured.

The inadequate modification of the airplane’s canopy latching mechanism, which resulted in the inadvertent opening of the canopy while on final approach to land and a subsequent loss of pitch control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot conducted a preflight inspection of the experimental amateur-built airplane, and before the engine run-up, he locked the canopy by pushing the two canopy latches forward against the latch bolts. The pilot also verified the locked position of the canopy again before departing for a local flight, during which he planned to perform several touch-and-go landings. He reported that there were no in-flight abnormalities, but on short final approach for landing, the canopy unexpectedly opened. The airplane pitched nose down, and the pilot attempted to correct the abrupt maneuver by applying engine power and pulling back on the control stick; however, the airplane continued to descend and impacted the ground in a nose-down attitude. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the cockpit canopy's locking system had been modified from the design provided by the airframe kit manufacturer. Functional testing revealed that the canopy latching mechanism was difficult to operate and to close fully and lacked a positive indication for determining if it was securely closed and locked. It is likely that, during the accident flight, while on final approach to land, the inadequate modification to the canopy latching mechanism allowed the canopy to open in flight, which rendered the airplane uncontrollable.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.