Afton Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Afton, Wyoming 83110
Sunday, August 29, 2010 9:30 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that he performed a normal preflight inspection of his airplane, loaded baggage into the back seat, placed a canvas canopy cover on top of the baggage, and proceeded to take off. The pilot had not securely locked the canopy into the closed position. After accelerating to about 70 mph, the canopy partially opened, and the canvas cover exited the airplane. It impacted the pusher propeller and a blade shattered. The pilot aborted the takeoff but, due to vibrations, the nose wheel broke off before he was able to stop. During the sequence the airplane was substantially damaged by the fire. The pilot opined that a fuel line may have broken due to the severe engine vibration or an impact from the nose wheel.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to securely lock the canopy prior to takeoff, which allowed the contents of the cabin to exit the airplane and damage the propeller. Contributing to the severity of the damage was the subsequent fire that ensued.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/29/2010
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 930
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Afton
Event State WYOMING
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 83110
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 434232N
Event Location Longitude 1105632W
Event Location Airport Afton
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AFO
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 6221
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 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) 16
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) 27559
NTSB Notification Source Northwest Mtn. Duty Officer
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 14 2011 9:15AM
User who most recently changed record broda
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N31939
NTSB Number WPR10CA437
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 Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name HOLT HERBERT L
Aircraft Model LONG EZ
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 001
Certified Max Gross Weight 1420
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection May 1 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 20
Airframe Hours 475
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name HOLT HERBERT L
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City CENTRAL VALLEY
Aircraft Owner State UT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 84754-3038
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name HOLT HERBERT L
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City CENTRAL VALLEY
Operator State UT
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 84754-3038
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 AFO
Departure City Afton
Departure State WY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 930
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code RIF
Destination City Richfield
Destination State UT
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 14 2011 9:15AM
User who most recently changed record broda
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 34
Runway Length 7025
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --