Ryan John Steffey SUBSONEX N224P

Summary

On 14 May 2019 at about 23:48 local time, a Ryan John Steffey SUBSONEX registered N224P was involved in an accident near Latrobe, Pennsylvania, 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

14 May 2019 at 23:48

Classification

Accident

Location

Latrobe, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Arnold Palmer Rgnl (LBE)

Coordinates

40.2731, -79.4103

Aircraft

Ryan John Steffey SUBSONEX

Registration

N224P

Category

Airplane

Year built

2019

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Latrobe → Latrobe

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

GAA19CA266

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain pitch control while attempting to secure the canopy, which opened shortly after takeoff and resulted in the airplane impacting the ground and the main landing gear collapsing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to complete the predeparture checklist, which led to his failure to properly secure the canopy 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, before takeoff, he was adjusting the radios and forgot to latch the canopy. After takeoff, the canopy "shimmied open about 2 ft aft." The pilot reported that he immediately reached for the canopy with his left hand while his right hand was on the control stick. The airplane was a few feet above the runway surface when he applied slight forward pressure on the control stick, but the airplane's nose pitched down, and the nose landing gear impacted the ground. The airplane veered right, the main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane then slid to a stop on the runway. The pilot reported that he did not complete the predeparture checklist to secure the canopy because he was adjusting the recently installed radio and headset. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.