# Accident 19970802020419A: Amtr DEFIANT, Alma, MI, August 2, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 2, 1997, 15:45 local time
- Place: Alma, MI
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 43.3705° N, 84.6491° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.3705&lon=-84.6491&mi=10
- Aircraft: N20SR, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N20SR-1998-12-09) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Taylor-Ide Daniel RUTAN DEFIANT (registry code 056905V, https://openairdocs.org/model/taylor-ide-daniel-rutan-defiant) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR DEFIANT
- Reported engine: LYC O320D2G
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 500 total, 100 in this make and model, 33 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI97LA234](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI97LA234) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970802020419A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

AIRCRAFT MADE EMERGENCY LANMDING IN A FIELD AND BURNED. (.4)THE PILOT REPORTED THE AIRCRAFT CLIMBED OUT NORMALLY UNTIL IT REACHED 500 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL AND THEN THE CANOPY OPENED.  THE PILOT LOOSENED HIS SHOULDER HARNESS IN ORDER TO PULL DOWN THE CANOPY.  ONE OF THE PASSENGERS TRIED TO HOLD THE CANOPY CLOSED WHILE THE PILOT FLEW THE AIRPLANE, BUT WAS UNABLE TO KEEP IT CLOSED.  THE CANOPY CAME OPEN AGAIN AND THE PILOT CHOSE TO EXECUTE AN EMERGENCY LANDING INTO AN OLD CLEARING WHICH WAS SURROUNDED BY FOREST.  DURING IMPACT, THE PILOT WAS KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS, AND ONE OF THE TWO PASSENGERS RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES.  THE TWO PASSENGERS PULLED THE PILOT FROM THE AIRPLANE. HE REPORTED THAT HE HAD NOT ENSURED THAT THE CANOPY WAS PROPERLY LATCHED, AND THE SAFETY LATCH WAS NOT FULLY ENGAGED WHEN HE HAD DEPARTED.  THE SAFETY LATCH USED ON THE AIRPLANE WAS NOT THE SAFELY LATCHED SPECIFIED BY THE DESIGNER OF THE AIRPLANE.  THE PILOT REPORTED HE MADE FOUR MISTAKES; THEY WERE: 'NOT FIXING THE HEADREST THINKING THAT IT WAS ONLY A PIECE OF LOOSE FOAM, OMITTING THE CHECKLIST FOR THE FINAL FLIGHT, OMITTING CHECKING THE LATCH, AND WHEN I CHANGED BURT'S [RUTAN] SAFETY LATCH SYST                   EM NOT COMING UP WITH A DESIGN THAT WAS BETTER. (-23) ON CLIMBOUT, SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF THE CANOPY OPENED.  THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO CLOSE IT AND LOST CONTROL OF AIRCRAFT, IMPACTING THE GROUND. AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED BY ENSUING FIRE.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CHI97LA234](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI97LA234), Aug 2, 1997: Rutan Defiant (N20SR), Alma, MI, destroyed. Probable cause: the pilot did not perform an adequate preflight check and he did not perform the takeoff checklist. Factors included the pilot's inadequate design of the safety latch and the canopy inadvertently…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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