Charlotte Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Punta Gorda, Florida 33982
Saturday, November 18, 2006 10:30 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated to the NTSB Investigator that he had problems locking the canopy. He would try closing the canopy several times before it would lock correctly. When he closed the canopy for the accident flight "it did not feel right" but elected to continue the flight. At about 500 feet above the ground, after takeoff, the canopy popped open. He stayed in the pattern and was on final approach while holding down the canopy. He released his hand from the control stick to throttle back, the airplane veered left. He could not regain control of the airplane and impacted the ground. The responding FAA inspector stated that during the post accident examination, the two front latches to secure the canopy down did not engage when the canopy was in the down and locked position. When lifted, the canopy to windshield miss alignment was about 3/4 of an inch into the wind stream.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane. A factor in the accident was the pilot's inadequate preflight, which did not ensure the security of the canopy before flight.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/18/2006
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1030
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Punta Gorda
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33982
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 265513N
Event Location Longitude 0815926W
Event Location Airport Charlotte
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KPGD
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Unknown
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) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 310
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.06
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency --
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 21000
NTSB Notification Source FAA Atlanta Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date --
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 --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N75EZ
NTSB Number MIA07CA018
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Sargent Jonathan
Aircraft Model Varieze
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2173
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft --
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed --
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Jonathan L. Sargent
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City --
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Jonathan L. Sargent
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Punta Gorda
Operator State FL
Operator Country USA
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 --
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code KPGD
Departure City Punta Gorda
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 18 2006 3:32PM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --