Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Air Sailing Gliderport Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Sparks, Nevada 89510
Sunday, April 26, 2009 13:00 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that the airplane's canopy opened on the takeoff roll prior to liftoff. Noting that there was not enough remaining runway to land safely, he continued the climb to 1,000 feet where he attempted to close the canopy. He was able to partially lock the canopy, and returned to the pattern to make a precautionary landing. The pilot reported that while in the landing flare the canopy opened again, obscuring his forward view. A witness reported that the airplane bounced on touchdown, became airborne, and then touched down again on the runway. After touching down, the right wing dropped and the airplane veered to the right. The airplane then made a rapid 90-degree left turn and went up on its nose, resulting in substantial damage. The pilot reported that the accident could have been prevented had he used his pre-takeoff checklist and ensured that the canopy had been completely closed prior to takeoff. Both the pilot and a witness reported a quartering headwind with about a 15-knot crosswind.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to follow the pre-takeoff checklist that resulted in the canopy opening during takeoff, which created a distraction, and his failure to maintain aircraft control during landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/26/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1300 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Sparks |
| Event State | NEVADA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 89510 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 395219N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1194203W |
| Event Location Airport | Air Sailing Gliderport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | NV23 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 4300 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1153 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 190 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | RNO |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 4415 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 22 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 700 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| 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) | 12 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 50 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.05 |
| 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) | 26780 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA AWP Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 1 2010 6:09PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N690V |
| NTSB Number | WPR09LA218 |
| 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 | Weinberg |
| Aircraft Model | RV-6 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 20051 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 965 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 5 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 18 |
| Airframe Hours | 944 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Robert M McKay Trustee |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Cameron Park |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 95682 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Robert M McKay Trustee |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Cameron Park |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 95682 |
| 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 | NV23 |
| Departure City | Sparks |
| Departure State | NV |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1300 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | O61 |
| Destination City | Cameron Park |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 1 2010 6:09PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 03 |
| Runway Length | 3000 |
| Runway Width | 60 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |