Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Dona Ana Cnty At Santa Teresa Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Santa Teresa, New Mexico 88008
Monday, April 20, 2009 13:00 MDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot said he became distracted while talking to another airplane on the radio. He didn't complete the takeoff checklist and forgot to latch the canopy prior to takeoff. The pilot took off and after climbing about 10 to 30 feet, the canopy popped open. The safety catch stopped the canopy from opening completely. With his left hand, the pilot attempted to close and lock the canopy. Being unsuccessful, he removed his right hand from control stick and grabbed the canopy latch. Control was lost and the airplane impacted the runway, struck a landing light, and skidded off the runway. The landing gear was sheared off, and a canard and a wing were crushed.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane, his failure to latch the canopy prior to takeoff, and his failure to complete the pretakeoff checklist due to his diverted attention.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/20/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1300 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Daylight Time |
| Event City | Santa Teresa |
| Event State | NEW MEXICO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 88008 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 315252N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1064217W |
| Event Location Airport | Dona Ana Cnty at Santa Teresa |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 5T6 |
| 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 | 4112 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| 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) | -- |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 25506 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ASW ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 14 2009 11:08AM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N77JM |
| NTSB Number | CEN09CA258 |
| 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 | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Marlin |
| Aircraft Model | Varieze |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 308 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1050 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 20 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 301 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | John E. Marlin |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 779 Alondra Dr. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Hemet |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 92545-1529 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | John E. Marlin |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 779 Alondra Dr. |
| Operator City | Hemet |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 92545-1529 |
| 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 | 5T6 |
| Departure City | Santa Teresa |
| Departure State | NM |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1530 |
| Departure Time Zone | MDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | PNS |
| Destination City | Pensacola |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 14 2009 11:11AM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 10 |
| Runway Length | 8500 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |