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ERA25LA070

2024-12-07 · Valdosta, Georgia, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport VLD

Current FAA registration · N100SW

Make / Model
WILLIAM M CLAPP CLAPP-SABERWING
Year of manufacture
2019 · 5 years old at event
Engine
CORVAIR 100HP (100 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20191114
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A00659

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

A hard landing and subsequent gear collapse due to the pilot’s failure to securely close the airplane canopy and its subsequent opening on short final.

Factual narrative

The private pilot was practicing takeoffs and landings and reported that while maneuvering through the traffic pattern, the canopy became partially opened. The canopy was equipped with two side latches and one main latch at the rear of the canopy. The right-side latch held the canopy partially secured until the final approach segment when it also released, and the canopy opened completely. The airplane subsequently nosed down and contacted the ground nose first just short of the runway whereupon the nose landing gear separated from the airplane and the main landing gear collapsed, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot was seriously injured. The pilot reported forgetting to lock the main rear latch to the canopy after opening it during taxi. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Aircraft-Aircraft structures-Doors-Passenger/crew doors-Incorrect use/operation
  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Forgotten action/omission-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2024_ERA25LA070.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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