# NTSB ERA23LA153: Green Richard H VAN'S RV7A, N4811E, Williston, FL, January 31, 2023 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: January 31, 2023, 14:30 local (19:30 UTC) - Place: Williston, FL - Coordinates: 29.346834, -82.472207 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.3468&lon=-82.4722&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Takeoff: Miscellaneous/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 106903 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA23LA153 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/106903/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=106903 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA23LA153 ## Probable cause 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. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Doors](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01035200): Aircraft › Aircraft structures · Incorrect use/operation (probable cause); cases with it: [Green Richard H VAN'S RV7A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01035200/cases.md?model=05618QA), [All aircraft, 9 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01035200/cases.md) - [Inspection: preflight inspection](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02061510): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Green Richard H VAN'S RV7A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02061510/cases.md?model=05618QA), [All aircraft, 551 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02061510/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot; cases with it: [Green Richard H VAN'S RV7A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=05618QA), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: descent/approach/glide path](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062040): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained; cases with it: [Green Richard H VAN'S RV7A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062040/cases.md?model=05618QA), [All aircraft, 809 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062040/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Takeoff: Miscellaneous/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900) (defining event); cases with it: [Green Richard H VAN'S RV7A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900/sequence.md?model=05618QA), [All aircraft, 1,556 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900/sequence.md) - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092); cases with it: [Green Richard H VAN'S RV7A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md?model=05618QA), [All aircraft, 2,102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096); cases with it: [Green Richard H VAN'S RV7A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md?model=05618QA), [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md) ## Analysis 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. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N4811E](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4811E-2024-04-13), registration cancelled 2024-04-13, S/N 70455 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: GREEN RICHARD H VAN'S RV7A (NO SERIES) - Registry model: [Green Richard H VAN'S RV7A](https://openairdocs.org/model/green-richard-h-van-s-rv7a) (registry code 05618QA) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 70455 - Year built: 2008 - Airframe hours: 920 - Engines: Lycoming O-360 reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Condition, January 3, 2023 - Destination: SPG, St. Petersburg, FL - Airport: X60, Williston Municipal Airport, runway 23, 6,669 × 100 ft, concrete - Equipment: Angle of attack indicator, Auto-pilot, Electronic primary flight display, Satellite tracking device, Stall warning system, ADS-B ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 86; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: basicmed, without waivers/limitations; last flight review May 21, 2022; seat: left; restraint: 5-point; flight hours: 1,995 total, 104 in this make and model, 9 in the last 90 days, 2 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 270° at 8 knots - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 67 °F, dew point 39 °F - Altimeter: 29.94 inHg - Observed at: X60, 0.8 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20230131011629A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230131011629A), Jan 31, 2023: Green Richard H VAN'S RV7A, Williston, FL, Substantial damage. Canopy opened at take off, pilot turned around and landed on grass NLG dug into a depression on the grass, aircraft flipped over. Aircraft sustained… ## Docket (6 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 23, 2023, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=106903. 14.4 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 11 pages, 9.6 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15305775&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%20Form_Recd%204%203%202023_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Record of NTSB conversation (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 155 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15321134&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Record%20of%20NTSB%20Conversation_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Van's aircraft service letter 16-11-04 (item 3, PDF, 2 pages, 317 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15320676&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Service%20Letter%2016-11-04-Rel.pdf - FAA inspector statement (item 4, PDF, 2 pages, 444 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15321347&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=FAA%20Inspector%20Statement_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Investigative photographs (item 5, PDF, 6 pages, 6 photos, 1.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15321653&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Investigative%20Photographs-Rel.pdf - Release of aircraft wreckage, NTSB form 6120.15 (item 6, PDF, 1 page, 2.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15320686&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Fully%20Exctd%20Wreckage%20Release%20Form_ERA23LA153_Redacted-Rel.pdf 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.