- Date
- July 13, 1990, 09:45 local (14:45 UTC)
- Place
- Cherokee, IA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2MXMonnett Sonerai II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 9, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900713025729A
- Case key
- 35014
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
Aircraft control not maintained by the pilot in command.
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
The pvt plt said that he had just departed the airport in his newly purchased homebuilt acft, had leveled off, when the canopy popped open. He reduced power, then held the canopy partially down with his throttle hand. He attempted an emergency ldg, and felt he needed additional power to make the field, but chose to hold the canopy down instead. He landed in an alfalfa field, struck a ditch and nosed over. The plt said that he chose to hold the canopy down, rather than risk possible adverse flight charactaristics with it open.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2MX
- Reported as
- Monnett Sonerai II
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- UM 1
- Engine
- Volkswagen 2020 C.C., 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Christensen, Jim W.
- Registered owner
- Unknown
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- CKP
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
- 33
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 268 total · 2 in this make and model · 268 as pilot in command · 11 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Observed at
- SUX, 50 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.