Green Richard H VAN'S RV7A N4811E

Summary

On 31 January 2023 at about 19:30 local time, a Green Richard H VAN'S RV7A registered N4811E was involved in an accident near Williston, 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

31 January 2023 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Williston, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Williston Municipal Airport (X60)

Coordinates

29.3468, -82.4722

Aircraft

Green Richard H VAN'S RV7A

Registration

N4811E

Category

Airplane

Year built

2008

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → St. Petersburg

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA23LA153

Nobody was injured.

The hard landing and subsequent nose over during the forced landing. Contributing to the accident were the improperly secured canopy, and the distraction it created.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot stated that during takeoff from runway 23 when the flight was 20 ft above the runway, the tip-up canopy became unlatched and “flipped up” which eliminated his forward vision and made the airplane difficult to control. He returned for landing and reported the, “landing was hard.” During the landing roll the nose landing gear dug in and the airplane nosed over resulting in structural damage to the vertical stabilizer and damage to the rudder. According to a Service Letter from the airplane designer, in the event that a tip-up canopy opened in-flight, field reports indicate that the airplane will “most likely pitch nose down abruptly. The severity of the pitching moment can depend on speed, attitude, and weight and balance.” According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, postaccident examination of the tip-up canopy revealed the canopy frame was distorted and the left side of the canopy frame was damaged which prevented the left aft side from latching closed. The right aft side of the canopy could be latched closed and was unable to be manually raised once closed. The airplane was equipped with a secondary canopy latch at the top rear of the canopy frame. No discrepancies of it were reported. Further, no discrepancies were reported or observed on either “catch tooth” of the latch handle or canopy latch. The airplane was not equipped with a tip-up canopy latch warning system. While the FAA inspector reported no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction of the canopy latch system (primary or secondary), the damage to the canopy frame likely occurred during the accident sequence. It is likely that the canopy was not closed and latched on either aft side and the canopy latch handle was not fully engaged with the canopy latch during takeoff. Had the airplane been equipped with a tip-up canopy latch warning system, it is likely that the improperly closed canopy would have been detected by the pilot.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.