ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 269825
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| Date: | Tuesday 23 November 2021 |
| Time: | 10:33 |
| Type: |  Zenair CH 601 XL Zodiac |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N601KS |
| MSN: | 6-5930 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2007 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 54 hours |
| Engine model: | General Motors Corvair |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near French Valley Airport (F70), Temecula, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | French Valley Airport, CA (F70) |
| French Valley Airport, CA (F70) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On November 23, 2021, about 1033 Pacific standard time, an experimental, amateur-built Zenith Zodiac 601XL, N601KS, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident in Temecula, California. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
About seven minutes after departure, following what appeared to be an uneventful takeoff and initial climb, the airplane began a 180° turn toward the departure airport. A few minutes later, witnesses heard a loud bang, and the airplane pitched down aggressively, rolled inverted, and impacted the ground in a steep, nose-down attitude. During the descent, the pilot’s flight bag and other cabin contents fell out of the airplane, and the sound of buffeting wind noise and the pilot struggling were heard on the airport’s common traffic advisory frequency.
Examination did not reveal any anomalies with the flight controls or engine that would have precluded normal operation, and all components from the airplane were found in the immediate vicinity of the impact site. There was no evidence of bird strike.
The owner/builder of the airplane stated that he had once experienced the canopy opening on takeoff but was able to land safely. As a result of this event, he disabled the standard lock and installed a set of two small over-center latches, each mounted to the rear sides of the canopy frame with two soft aluminum rivets.
Examination of the canopy system revealed damage signatures that appeared to indicate that the rivets of one latch had separated in shear, and the other latch had twisted away from the airframe. It is likely that the accident was initiated by the failure of the mounting rivets in one latch, which caused the canopy to partially open on one side, then twist the latch away from the other side, resulting in an open and possibly deformed canopy. The reason for the initial failure could not be determined; however, the owner of the airplane was shorter than the pilot and had raised the seat and moved it forward during construction. The modification would have resulted in the accident pilot having to lean inboard, or sit with his head tilted, to avoid touching the canopy. It is possible that the airplane encountered turbulence that caused the pilot to hit the canopy, resulting in the failure of one of the latches.
Multiple instances of canopies opening in flight were reported for this airplane model. Because an open canopy disturbs airflow over the horizontal stabilizer, flight control difficulties can result in a loss of control nose-down pitching motion, often accompanied by a loud banging sound and cabin contents being sucked out, all which were observed in this accident. Although the Pilot Operating Handbook (POH) provides instructions for continued flight with an open canopy, evidence from both this and previous accidents suggests that both the nose-down motion and associated negative G-forces can be hard for pilots to maintain airplane control.
The airplane’s POH suggested the installation of a secondary backup latch system, and 2 weeks following the accident, the manufacturer issued a safety alert recommending such. The accident airplane was not equipped with a secondary latch.
Probable Cause: The failure of the airplane’s canopy latch system, which resulted in the canopy opening in flight and a loss of airplane control. Contributing to the accident was the lack of a secondary canopy latch as recommended by the kit manufacturer.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://patch.com/california/temecula/small-plane-crashes-temeculas-french-valley-airport
https://www.pe.com/2021/11/23/pilot-dies-in-small-plane-crash-in-temecula/
https://www.facebook.com/100064353174721/posts/261568812664889/
NTSB
FAA
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=601KS
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 1 February 2008 | N601KS | Private | 0 | Murrieta, California | |
sub |
| Fuel starvation | ||||||
Location
Images:
Media:
NTSB is investigating the Nov. 23, 2021, crash of an Experimental Zodiac 601XL airplane near Temecula, California.
— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) November 23, 2021
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 23-Nov-2021 19:26 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 23-Nov-2021 20:03 | harro | Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 23-Nov-2021 20:04 | harro | Updated [Narrative, Category] |
| 23-Nov-2021 20:22 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 24-Nov-2021 15:58 | johnwg | Updated [Registration, Cn, Location, Phase, Source, Narrative] |
| 24-Nov-2021 19:44 | Captain Adam | Updated [Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative] |
| 25-Nov-2021 17:35 | johnwg | Updated [Source, Embed code] |
| 17-Apr-2022 12:50 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
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