NTSB Report on Bill Phillips' Accident

"Ron Wanttaja" wrote in message
...
vaughn wrote:
"Peter Dohm" wrote in message
...
I suspect that a safety catch of a type common on the engine hoods of
automobiles and placed close enough to the latched position to preclude
oscillation, accompanied by the installation of a warning lamp when the
canopy is not in its fully latched position, would both mitigate the
result of an unlatched canopy and make the occurance less likely.

I agree 100%. Your car door latches automatically when you close it. We
would not tolerate car doors that did anything else, because if they did
NOT latch automatically, people would fall out of cars and be killed with
depressing regularity. Unlatched canopies kill people...why can't they
be made to latch automatically?

This ain't rocket science.

Indeed. Check out the January instance of an open Lancair canopy,
specifically the entry the pilot made in the "Recommendations" section.

"In the "RECOMMENDATION" section of the NTSB Pilot/Operator Report, form
6120.1 the pilot stated;

"1. The airplane should be tested/modified to make sure the canopy
(oscillations) do not impair the pilot's ability to control the airplane,
"2. a canopy latch warning system, [should be installed] or
"3. [there should be] the installation of a secondary [safety] latch ."

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?...LA207& akey=1

Seems pretty reasonable to me.

The big drawback is that this is probably a fairly complex undertaking,
especially the warning system. Switches have to be positioned, wires have
to be run, power supplied, panel lights/horn installed, etc.

Not something out of the ordinary for an aircraft builder, but a bit more
complex if a person buys a completed aircraft rather than learning the
skills during construction. I bought my Fly Baby instead of building it,
but everything on it is dead-nuts simple. Plus, Phillips' Lancair was a
show machine... he probably wouldn't have tolerated the kind of
rough-holes, wires running-in-the-open bandage job that I'm satisfied with
(1/2 :-)

I do not know if Phillips had been in communication with other builders
regarding canopy issues. As I've related in other postings, most of the
comments seem to indicate the aircraft is adequately controllable. This
may have given him a false sense of security..."If those *******s can fly
the airplane with the canopy open, I'll have no trouble." This would make
him less likely to spend the money and accept the downtime to have his
airplane modified.

Ron Wanttaja

Those are good points, and add to my feeling that white glove competitions
tend to distort the priorities of owners, builders, and restorers.

I might also add that, even if Bill was in excellent shape and as skillfull
as any boast he was ever said to have made, I doubt that he would have fared
better that a new private pilot if the newbee was helmeted including a face
shield and he was unprotected with personal effects swirling around.

Peter