Clarence E. Page Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Yukon, Oklahoma 73128
Sunday, September 18, 2005 11:35 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The 6,700-hour commercial pilot had just started a practice session in preparation for an aerobatic competition when she initiated a 45-to-55-degree nose-up climb. As the airplane began to ascend, witnesses observed the acrylic canopy separate in fragments from the airplane. The airplane continued to climb before it rolled to the right and entered an approximate 60-degree nose-down descent. The engine remained at full power during the descent and no flight control movements were observed after the canopy had separated. A witness made several attempts to contact the pilot via radio, but there was no response. Examination of the canopy revealed that it fastened to the fuselage by two metal hinges that fastened directly to the fuselage with four flat-head bolts. There was no evidence of bonding material or adhesive in the area of the fuselage underneath the mounting plate of either hinge. The forward hinge was never located; however, a closer view of the location where the front canopy hinge was located indicated there were "rub" marks on the surface of the fuselage underneath the hinge pin lock wire, which was indicative to contact wear with the bent end of the hinge pin. The hinge pin lock wire was also worn and flattened in areas, which corresponded to contact wear with the bent end of the hinge pin. The rear hinge was fractured into two pieces through the mounting plate at the fuselage side of the hinge. Deformation was observed around the rivet holes where the hinge was attached to the fuselage, indicative of overstress. Bolt holes in the mounting plate at the canopy side of the hinge were deformed, and the edges of the holes were cracked or fractured, consistent with overstress. One of the four bolts remained in the mounting plate on the canopy side of the hinge. Rub marks similar to those found in the area of the front hinge pin lock wire were not present. In addition, there was no damage to the hinge pin lock wire. A review of aircraft logbooks revealed that the airplane was built in 1997 and had accrued approximately 900 hours at the time of the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The catastrophic separation of the canopy as result of the failure of the forward canopy hinge while performing aerobatics and the subsequent incapacitation of the pilot.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/18/2005
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1135
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Yukon
Event State OKLAHOMA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 73128
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 352957N
Event Location Longitude 0974912W
Event Location Airport Clarence E. Page
Event Location Nearest Airport ID F29
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1353
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Witness
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 32
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 20
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 200
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 18
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 25
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.93
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency --
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 21032
NTSB Notification Source FAA OKC FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Sep 18 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Feb 26 2007 11:14AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office OKC FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N300NW
NTSB Number DFW05FA242
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Akro Tech Aviation Inc. Giles
Aircraft Model G-300
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number G-3001
Certified Max Gross Weight 1400
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 834.9
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Robert and Marta (Bohn) Meyer
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City TEHACHAPI
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 93561
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code F29
Departure City Yukon
Departure State OK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1130
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code F29
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 20 2006 8:59AM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --