Philip D Anderson 601 N467SD

Summary

On 27 October 2015 at about 18:15 local time, a Philip D Anderson 601 registered N467SD, operated by Smith, Bracken K. and Smith, Elizabeth B., was involved in an accident near Hemet, California, 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

27 October 2015 at 18:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Hemet, California, United States

Nearest airport

Hemet-Ryan (HMT)

Coordinates

33.7339, -117.0225

Aircraft

Philip D Anderson 601

Registration

N467SD

Category

Airplane

Year built

2012

Engines

1

Operator

Smith, Bracken K. and Smith, Elizabeth B.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hemet → Redlands

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA16LA032

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain the airplane's descent rate during a precautionary landing, which resulted in hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to secure the canopy before takeoff, which precipitated the precautionary landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The sport pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight. The pilot reported that, after completing the before takeoff checks, he initiated the takeoff roll, rotated the airplane, and then climbed it to about 80 ft above ground level, at which point the canopy opened. The canopy began "bobbing up and down," so the pilot aborted the takeoff and landed on the remaining available runway. The pilot reported that he "lost perspective" during landing and that the airplane impacted the runway hard, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical anomalies or malfunctions that would have prevented normal operation. The pilot further reported that he taxied to the runway with the canopy unsecured and that he could not recall if he secured the two latches before takeoff or if the "mental checklist" he used included securing the canopy. Postaccident photographs of the canopy latching mechanism showed that the mechanism appeared undamaged and functional; therefore, it is likely the pilot did not secure the canopy before takeoff.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.