Pilot Calmly Keeps Control of Her Plane After the Canopy Opens and Shatters Mid-Flight

During an aerobatic training flight, musical pilot Narine Melkumjan very calmly kept control of her plane after the glass canopy over her head opened and shattered from the force. While the elements at that height were incredibly challenging, Melkumjan maintained her position and landed safely.

The flight was a distressing experience, filled with noise, breathing difficulties, and impaired visibility. …Aerodynamically, I’ve experienced some buffet and controllability challenges. Probably the most difficult part was to keep the power in, thus trading my vision and breathing for kinetic energy. Although due to all the noise it was difficult to hear what my coach was saying on the radio, one thing I’ve heard loud and clear “just keep flying”

When Melkumjan landed, she realized that she had failed to ensure that the canopy locking pin was secure.

As you can see from the video, it was a challenging experience that could have been avoided if I had made a proper visual check before taking off. The canopy locking pin had never gone into the locked position, and I failed to notice it during my checks.