NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ERA22FA036
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot’s failure to properly secure the canopy before takeoff, allowing the canopy to open and then separate in flight, which resulted in the pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.
Factual narrative
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On October 31, 2021, about 1320 eastern daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built Vans RV-4, N479JJ, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Chattahoochee, Florida. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot departed Tallahassee International Airport (TLH), Tallahassee, Florida, about 1303 destined for Monroe County Aeroplex Airport (MVC), Monroeville, Alabama. After departure, an air traffic controller terminated radar services and approved the pilot to change radio frequencies. About 17 minutes later, radar contact was lost. According to automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the airplane climbed northbound to about 3,000 ft mean sea level (msl) after departure, then it turned right about 90° to the east, then back to the north. The airplane descended to about 2,500 ft and overflew Lake Jackson then headed westbound before turning northwest bound. The airplane’s altitude varied between about 2,000 and 2,500 ft. As the airplane flew about .70 nautical miles southwest of Mount Pleasant, it began to lose groundspeed and began turning left and descending, then gaining groundspeed while continuing to descend. Radar contact with the airplane was lost about 17 minutes after takeoff. The last data track showed the airplane at 650 ft and a groundspeed of 172 knots. An off-duty law enforcement officer was doing yardwork at his house when the airplane’s bubble-style canopy fell in his yard (the airplane was equipped with a buddle-style canopy that was hinged on the side). The canopy was about 1.5 miles away from the main wreckage.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
The accident site was in a wooded area and the wreckage path was about 550 ft long. The airplane was heavily fragmented and scattered along a debris path on a heading of about 220° magnetic. The outboard portion of the right wing, including the aileron, was separated and found in the vicinity of an initial tree strike. Small pieces of sheet metal, wheel pants, pieces of the carburetor, fuel tank wing sections and stringers were located along the wreckage path for about 400 ft. The empennage was leaning against a tree with impression marks about 15 ft up the tree. The inboard section of the left wing was found about 500 ft along the wreckage path. The fuel tank was breached, and the left wing was fire damaged. The engine, propeller, pieces of the landing gear, and parts of the instrument panel were located at the end of the wreckage path. Both propeller blades were impact separated. The canopy was impact damaged and the frame was bent in several areas. The canopy handle was found in the open position with the locking pin damaged and bent at its tip. The locking mechanism on the canopy could not be tested.
MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION
Toxicology testing performed by the FAA’s Forensic Services Laboratory did not reveal any evidence of alcohol or other impairing drugs. An autopsy was performed on the pilot by the Office of the Office of the Medical Examiner, District Two, Tallahassee, Florida. The report listed the cause of death as blunt traumatic injuries. The pilot departed the airport for a cross country flight. Shortly after departure, radar services were terminated by air traffic control and the pilot was cleared for a radio frequency change. Seventeen minutes later, radar contact was lost. Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast data obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration revealed the airplane climbed to about 2,500 ft mean sea level and made a few turns to the north and northeast before heading northwest. The airplane began to lose groundspeed, turned to the left and descended, then gained groundspeed as it continued to descend. The last data track showed the airplane at 650 ft and a groundspeed of 172 knots. A witness was outside at his house when the canopy from the airplane fell in his yard. The canopy was about 1.5 miles away from the main wreckage. The accident site was in a wooded area and the wreckage path was about 550 ft long. The airplane was heavily fragmented and scattered along a debris path. The canopy handle was found in the open position with the looking pin damaged and bent at its tip. It is likely that the canopy was not locked correctly before takeoff and that it opened in flight and departed the airplane. The airplane then made a gradual slow left descending turn and continued to gain airspeed until it contacted trees and the ground at a high rate of speed. Based on the available evidence, it could not be determined if the canopy contacted and incapacitated the pilot when it separated from the airplane, which then resulted in a loss of control. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- — Aircraft-Aircraft structures-Windows-windshield system-Flight compartment windows-Incorrect use/operation
- — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action performance-Pilot
- — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2021_ERA22FA036.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (loss of control). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER)
A Scoping Review of Aviation Loss of Control Inflight Research
Loss of control – inflight (LOC-I) contributes to aircraft accidents at unacceptably high rates. Significant industry efforts and research have aimed to improve LOC-I prevention, detection, and recove…
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2024 · SKYbrary article
Loss of Control In-Flight (LOC-I) — SKYbrary Knowledge Base
SKYbrary comprehensive knowledge-base entry on Loss of Control In-Flight — definitions, contributing factors, accident case studies (Air France 447, Colgan 3407), and prevention strategies.
- NTSB Aircraft Accident Reports 2022 · Accident report
Loss of Control on Takeoff in Icing Conditions — Citation 560XL
Cessna Citation 560XL fatal takeoff icing accident, March 2018. Investigation of a Citation 560XL loss-of-control takeoff accident in icing conditions.
- Semantic Scholar 2021 · Article (Aviation)
ANALYSIS OF GENERAL AVIATION FIXED-WING AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS INVOLVING INFLIGHT LOSS OF CONTROL USING A STATE-BASED APPROACH
Inflight loss of control (LOC-I) is a significant cause of General Aviation (GA) fixed-wing aircraft accidents. The United States National Transportation Safety Board’s database provides a rich source…
- NASA NTRS 2021 · Presentation
Use of Design of Experiments in Determining Neural Network Architectures for Loss of Control Detection
Abstract—We describe empirical methods for selecting a neural network architecture to implement belief state inference on generic commercial transport aircraft.
- NASA NTRS 2021 · Conference Paper
Use of Design of Experiments in Determining Neural Network Architectures for Loss of Control Detection
We describe empirical methods for selecting a neural network architecture to implement belief state inference on generic commercial transport aircraft.
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗