Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Statesville Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Statesville, North Carolina 28677
Wednesday, December 12, 2007 10:00 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
As the amateur-built Aero Canard was departing on a local flight, the canopy opened as the airplane lifted off the runway. After the airplane had climbed to an altitude of about 100 feet above the ground, a fabric cover exited the cockpit, and went through the wooden propeller assembly located aft of the fuselage. The airplane continued to climb slowly, and subsequently impacted trees and the ground. A shredded fabric cover and 1-foot sections of each propeller blade tip were located near the runway. All other portions of the airplane were accounted for at the accident site. Examination of the main canopy latch mechanism and a secondary "safety" latch did not reveal evidence of any preimpact failures; however, the position of the latches at the time of the takeoff could not be determined. The airplane's most recent inspection was performed about the time the pilot purchased the airplane, which was approximately 6 months prior to the accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
An inadvertent opening of the canopy during takeoff.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/12/2007 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1000 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Statesville |
| Event State | NORTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 28677 |
| Event Date Year | 2007 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 354553N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0805714W |
| Event Location Airport | Statesville Regional |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | SVH |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.25 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 968 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 942 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SVH |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 965 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| 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) | 17 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 220 |
| 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) | 30.17 |
| 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 |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 24877 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Charlotte FSDO |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 12 2007 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 1 2009 2:32PM |
| User who most recently changed record | grer |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Charlotte, NC |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N199JW |
| NTSB Number | NYC08LA059 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Wootton, John |
| Aircraft Model | Aero Canard |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 0020 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2200 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 25 2007 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 63 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Risto A. Toukola |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Statesville |
| Aircraft Owner State | NC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 28677 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Risto A. Toukola |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Statesville |
| Operator State | NC |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 28677 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | SVH |
| Departure City | Statesville |
| Departure State | NC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 955 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | SVH |
| Destination City | Statesville |
| Destination State | NC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 1 2009 2:35PM |
| User who most recently changed record | grer |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 28 |
| Runway Length | 7006 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |