The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) today released the final investigation report into the fatal crash of a Lancair Legacy at Geraldton last year.
On 1 October 2013, Legacy VH-ALP touched down short of the runway, colliding with a gutter and perimeter fence before turning over and catching fire. The pilot later died of injuries.
According to the ATSB, the canopy on the amateur-built kit plane came open during the take-off roll and the pilot continued with the take-off, returning to land on a crossing runway.
"As the aircraft accelerated the aerodynamic loads on the canopy increased and resulted in it suddenly lifting up to a partially open position," the report states.
"The pilot did not reject the take-off and during the subsequent manoeuvring for landing, likely encountered control, performance and forward visibility difficulties associated with the open canopy. This adversely affected the pilot’s capacity to conduct a normal approach."
Footage from a camera at Geraldton showed VH-ALP taxying for take-off with the canopy clearly not in the correct latched position.
The US manufacturer of the Lancair kit has declined to take any action, reporting to the ATSB that "the latching system, when properly employed has no history of failure or service issues, causing any mishap, incident or accident.
"Given these facts, Lancair will take no action to change the latching mechanism. Warning lights, buzzers, and shakers are widely employed in aircraft to warn the pilot of unsafe conditions. These devices are not always successful, and the burden of proper aircraft system management ultimately lies with the pilot."
The full crash report is available on the ATSB website.