GAA16LA032

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.

On October 27, 2015, about 1311 Pacific daylight time, a Zodiac 601XL airplane, N467SD, impacted the runway during an aborted takeoff at the Hemet-Ryan Airport (HMT), Hemet, California. The solo sport pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provision of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal cross-country flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. According to the pilot, after completing the before takeoff checks, he initiated the takeoff roll, rotated and climbed to about 80 feet above ground level (AGL) when the canopy opened. He reported that the canopy began "bobbing up and down" as he aborted the takeoff and landed on the remaining portion of the runway he had just departed. As the pilot descended to the runway with canopy flapping up and down, he reported that he, "lost perspective" and the airplane impacted the runway hard. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. When asked by the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) if he explicitly recalled securing the two latches that secure the canopy, prior to takeoff, the pilot replied that he could not recall. The pilot reported that he used a checklist to perform the before takeoff checks, but could not recall if the checklist explicitly called for securing the canopy. At the time of the conversation the pilot did not have access to the checklist. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aviation Safety Inspector (ASI) that examined the airplane at the accident site and conducted the initial interview with the pilot reported that the pilot remarked that his canopy was intentionally unlocked and open, in order to allow fresh and cool air into the flight deck while he was taxiing to the take-off position and couldn't recall if he had locked the canopy prior to beginning the take-off roll. During the interview, the FAA ASI asked the pilot, "If he utilized a checklist that had the canopy as one of the checklist items, the pilot stated that he used a mental checklist." Photographs provided by the FAA showed that the canopy latches and door handle used to secure the canopy appeared undamaged and functional.