ERA12CA506 · Evektor-Aerotechnik AS SPORTSTAR
Evektor-Aerotechnik AS SPORTSTAR · Accident: loss of control on ground during takeoff
From Deck Airport (9D4) to Deck Airport (9D4)
Event
- NTSB case
- ERA12CA506
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
- Completed
- API-reported fatalities
- 0 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- General aviation
- WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
- Visual Meteorological Cond
Evektor-Aerotechnik AS SPORTSTAR
- Aircraft type
- Evektor SPORTSTAR
- Category
- Airplane
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- N633EV
- Operator
- Eugene Honert
- Onboard fatalities
- Unknown
- Route
- From Deck Airport (9D4), Myerstown, PATo Deck Airport (9D4), Myerstown, PA
- Aircraft age
- Not recorded
- Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
- Takeoff
- Defining eventThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
- Loss of control on ground
- DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
- Substantial
Cause areas
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability
- Personnel issues › Action/decision
- Personnel issues › Task performance
Approximate · Coordinates from the NTSB case API, which marks them as estimated or does not say; no uncertainty radius is established.
NTSB narrative
The student pilot reported that he intended to conduct a solo flight. He used the airplane's checklist, started the engine, and taxied to the runway uneventfully. While holding short of the runway and completing pretakeoff checklist items, the student pilot was distracted by an airplane approaching to land. The student pilot missed the item on the checklist that called for locking the cockpit canopy. During the ensuing takeoff roll, the canopy began rattling and flapping open. The student pilot reached behind his head and attempted to secure the canopy. During that time, the airplane veered off of the left side of the runway and the left wing struck a propane tank. Examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. The examination did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane nor did the student pilot report any.
Probable cause
The student pilot's decision to continue the takeoff roll while trying to secure an open canopy and his subsequent failure to maintain directional control. Contributing to the accident was the student pilot's failure to complete the pretakeoff checklist.
Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset
Sources
NTSB record ERA12CA506
- Event ID
- 20120814X25236
- Case number
- ERA12CA506
- Dataset
- full-current
- Source SHA-256
- 5cf380f0061817c0331a6b2d8cc7e0ee3a79bea469a1001dc5c10e56f35f5ab3
Source notes (4)
- Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
- Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status, coordinates. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
- The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
- API snapshot SHA-256: 3afd218d680c048594baf7973b6fc4c7fb9461b2ba00ec7c6bbaf886e154e4c5; retrieved 2026-09-15T19:20:26.768Z.