NTSB on open canopies

[DonFromTX]

It would appear to me that rather than spend months of time on the canopy latch, the far easier thing to have done is just take the company RV12 up, open the canopy at VNE and do some maneuvers.
OK, I understand, I would not have done that either.

[quote=rvbuilder2002;961034]I am not going to argue with you on VAF about this Don.... I will limit it to adding some other information and let others decide what they think.

Van's added the canopy latch warning system because it was easy to do and because even if you discount the accident you are referring to, there are at least three other accidents that were the result of unlatched canopies on RV-12's.

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

Originally Posted by Smilin' Jack

I hate to admit this... But got distracted and skipped that on the check list... I asked my self.... How could you miss that big yellow knob sticking out.

One of the things the great Tom Berge emphasized in my transition training was to have multiple checks of the canopy on the various checklists.

I think he had two, so when I developed mine, I added three.

I still failed to latch it on one flight.

There are days when I wonder whether I should be flying at all.

The trouble with humans is we're human.

[Bob Redman]

G'day Bob,

Good thread - thanks.

I have not left a canopy open yet, but nor have I finished flying - so I am still at risk.

I have used a checklist all my flying life. After noticing an accumulation of lapses one day, I started using a check of myself - whether or not I was fit to fly on that occasion.

I started counting minor lapses, starting from pre-flight. The third minor lapse was strike three, and I reconsidered my fitness to fly:

Strike 1 - oops !
Strike 2 - could be a trend ?
Strike 3 - that is a trend.

Often I returned to the hangar for contemplation, and good fellowship with the hangar rats.

Occasionally I reset my attitude and flew. Less often, after a significant first lapse, immediately I called strike three and went home.

I try to do the same when driving to and from the hangar. - so far, so good.

Best regards,

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

I know what you mean, Bob.

I finished an annual yesterday so I took the plane out. There was a 13 knot wind 10 degrees off the runway, not much to worry about, other than the blowing snow which gave me the illusion of movement as I was doing the runup (kind of like when you're sitting in your car in a parking lot with your head down and a car next to you backs out).

My intention was to do a standard runup, high speed taxi and crow hop, then take it back to the barn after checking everything.

It went fine and then I said, "aw, let's just take it flying." But I haven't been up since December and I hadn't really calibrated myself to go flying (if that makes any sense).

But there I was taxiing back to take off when I suddenly said to myself, "what are you doing? You're coming out of annual, you've done the runup and you KNOW the next step is to take the cowling off and check for leaks"

And I took a left at the taxiway to the ramp and put it back in the hangar.

Where I found a pretty big oil leak.

[jrs14855]

The final report is published on a RV6 fatal in MN. There is no probable cause, the report goes into considerable detail about the proximity of an airliner and the possibility of wake turbulence. The report then goes off on a tangent talking about inadvertent canopy openings, including discussion of Lancair canopies???????

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

Yeah, it's a factual, not a probable cause. I asked the NTSB if they were consulting with Van's on this rather than googling up a Lancair (they had written me an email assuring me they'll get to the bottom of this particular incident), but they have not yet responded.

The reason why they're speculating that it was a canopy problem is there was an entry in the guy's airframe logbook 8 or 9 months earlier (or maybe it was in his pilot logbook, I forget which) that the canopy came unlatched during descent and I guess they're figuring since there isn't an entry that shows some action on addressing that, they suggest a problem with the mechanism.

OTOH, there might not be an entry in it because the guy simply forgot to latch properly or something. I don't know.

They've said they can't prove anything regarding wake turbulent (this guy was at 2k the jet was at 3 and descending) because they don't have any position information w.r.t one aircraft in relation to the other.

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

The NTSB today concluded the investigation and, indeed, determined that the airplane suffered a loss of pitch control because of the open canopy.

http://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.av...14FA306&rpt=fi

[Tracer 10]

I post this for all to learn from it.
Failed to Double Check Upper Canopy Latch, Locked; prior to takeoff.
Lower canopy side rail latch was locked.
Climbing through 3,000 feet AGL at 100 Knots.
Canopy came open.
Aircraft instantly pitched down 45 degrees.
Lots of wind noise in cockpit.
Retarded power to Idle.
Decreased Prop pitch to Low Pitch, High RPM.
Started increasing back pressure on stick AS aircraft slowed down.
Used very smooth and slow control stick back pressure.
Got aircraft leveled after a loss of altitude of 1,000 feet.
Continued slowing down to 60 Knots and the two of us were able to close and lock canopy upper latch, then side latch.
Landed without incident.
Do damage to canopy or airframe.
Updated checklist from "Canopy Locked" to Canopy Locked (Side and Upper latch.
Pilot has over 1,000 civilian hours; and 200 hours in this RV6.
Retired Military Aviation.
"FLY THE AIRPLANE FIRST; AND THEN DEAL WITH THE EMERGENCY"
SOMETIMES THAT NEEDS TO BE AT THE SAME TIME...!!!

[Fred.Stucklen]

Originally Posted by Tracer 10

I post this for all to learn from it.
Failed to Double Check Upper Canopy Latch, Locked; prior to takeoff.
Lower canopy side rail latch was locked.
Climbing through 3,000 feet AGL at 100 Knots.
Canopy came open.
Aircraft instantly pitched down 45 degrees.
Lots of wind noise in cockpit.
Retarded power to Idle.
Decreased Prop pitch to Low Pitch, High RPM.
Started increasing back pressure on stick AS aircraft slowed down.
Used very smooth and slow control stick back pressure.
Got aircraft leveled after a loss of altitude of 1,000 feet.
Continued slowing down to 60 Knots and the two of us were able to close and lock canopy upper latch, then side latch.
Landed without incident.
Do damage to canopy or airframe.
Updated checklist from "Canopy Locked" to Canopy Locked (Side and Upper latch.
Pilot has over 1,000 civilian hours; and 200 hours in this RV6.
Retired Military Aviation.
"FLY THE AIRPLANE FIRST; AND THEN DEAL WITH THE EMERGENCY"
SOMETIMES THAT NEEDS TO BE AT THE SAME TIME...!!!

So I have to ask, why did you allow the nose to pitch down 45*? Did you not actively try to pitch the nose back up as it was pitching down? Since you were able to eventually pitch the nose up again, the aircraft WAS controllable. I'm assuming that you failed to catch the fact that the nose was pitching over, and failed to rapidly apply back pressure on the stick.

I can attest to the fact that when the canopy opens suddenly in flight (Tip up version) the nose WILL fall through the horizon (pitch down), but the aircraft is still flyable with a LOT of back pressure applied to the stick (because of the loss of the canopy lifting surface). All my "Open Canopy" testing has confirmed this.

As you said, "FLY THE AIRPLANE FIRST; AND THEN DEAL WITH THE EMERGENCY". SOMETIMES THAT NEEDS TO BE AT THE SAME TIME...!!!

[Tracer 10]

I had the altitude to evaluate the problem.
Over a few seconds I might add..!!
Not knowing what applying aft stick abruptly might do to aggravate the situation; I elected a conservative solution. Reduce power & slow it down; while gently applying aft stick to level the aircraft, as elevator control became effective.
With the horizontal stabilizer & elevator airflow "blanked out); applying a large amount of up elevator may have caused a worse situation.
It would have been pure speculation on my part, (at that point in time) as to what may have happened if I had aggressively applied aft stick.
Remember, this didn't happen at takeoff in the pattern or low airspeed. It happened in climb at 100 knots & full power @ 3,000 AGL.
There are unanswered questions on how this aircraft would respond at higher air speeds; if the canopy came open.