- Date
- May 14, 2019, 23:48 UTC
- Place
- Latrobe, PA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N224PRyan John Steffey Subsonex
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report August 17, 2020
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20190514004609A
- Case key
- 99430
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
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.
Findings · 6
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
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.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that before takeoff, he was adjusting radios and forgot to latch the canopy. After liftoff, the canopy shimmied aft about 2 ft. The pilot reported that with his right hand on the control stick, he reached with his left hand to close the canopy. The airplane was a few feet above the runway surface when the nose pitched down, and the nose gear impacted the ground. The airplane veered right and slid to a stop on the runway. The pilot reported that he did not complete his pre-departure 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 preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N224P
- Reported as
- Ryan John Steffey Subsonex (JSX-2)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- JSX0022
- Built
- 2019
- Engine
- PBS TJ100, turbo jet
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- LBE · Latrobe, PA
- Destination
- LBE · Latrobe, PA
- Airport
- LBE · Arnold Palmer Rgnl, runway 24, 8,222 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Unknown
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 47
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Single
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 41 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.98 inHg
- Observed at
- KLBE, 1 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 26, 2020, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 589 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.