Lorain County Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Elyria, Ohio 44035
Wednesday, May 29, 2013 20:00 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that, during initial climb after performing a touch-and-go landing, the airplane's canopy opened to the forward position. The pilot landed the airplane on the remaining runway; however, the airplane departed the runway end, struck a landing threshold light, and came to rest upright. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the canopy latch spring had failed. In addition, the spring mounting plate used to hold the spring in position did not have a relief area machined into the plate, which was required for the correct operation of the spring. The spring and assembly had been installed about 32 hours before the accident. Therefore, the installation of an improper part in the canopy latch assembly caused the canopy latch spring to fail, which resulted in the canopy opening during initial climb.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the canopy latch spring, which caused the canopy to open during initial climb. Contributing to the accident was the installation of an improper part in the canopy latch assembly, which led to the failure of the canopy latch spring.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/29/2013
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 2000
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Elyria
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 44035
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 412039N
Event Location Longitude 0821040W
Event Location Airport Lorain County Regional Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KLPR
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 793
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1952 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID LPR
Elevation of weather observation facility 793
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 6500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.02
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 31936
NTSB Notification Source FAA-9-AGL-ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 25 2013 4:34PM
User who most recently changed record saua
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N319SV
NTSB Number CEN13LA308
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 EVEKTOR-AEROTECHNIK AS
Aircraft Model SPORTSTAR PLUS
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 20070916
Certified Max Gross Weight 1368
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 1
Cabin Crew Seats 0
Passenger Seats 1
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 Feb 15 2013 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1363.5
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name ON FILE
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Avon
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 44011
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name ON FILE
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Avon
Operator State OH
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 44011
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 KLPR
Departure City Elyria
Departure State OH
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1900
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code KLPR
Destination City Elyria
Destination State OH
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 25 2013 4:34PM
User who most recently changed record saua
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 25
Runway Length 5002
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --