- Date
- March 21, 1989, 11:13 local (19:13 UTC)
- Place
- Hesperia, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N239XVan'S/Fish RV-4
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890321004289A
- Case key
- 26121
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 properly latch the canopy prior to takeoff and by allowing the aircraft to enter into a stall during a critical phase of flight at an attitude insufficient to recover safely. A factor in the accident was the loss of his eyeglasses when the canopy departed the aircraft.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Witnesses reported observing the pilot taxi to the runway with the canopy cracked open approximately two inches. The pilot entered the runway and departed without pre-takeoff or cockpit check. Soon after takeoff the canopy departed the aircraft along with the pilot's glasses which were both found on the runway. The pilot returned to land and the aircraft entered into a stall and spun into the ground from an attitude of 100 feet about 1/4 mile from the runway.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N239X
- Reported as
- Van'S/Fish RV-4
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 812
- Airframe hours
- 5
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-C1D6, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert P. Fish
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 13, 1989 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- L26 · Hesperia, CA
- Destination
- CNO · Chino, CA
- Airport
- L26 · Hesperia, runway 3, 3,910 × 50 ft, asphalt
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
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 100 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.