On June 30, 1996, at 1100 hours Pacific daylight time, an experimental Rominger EYAS, N8012U, collided with the surface of runway 19 at the Sonoma County Airport, Santa Rosa, California, during a test flight. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The certificated private pilot/builder was not injured. The airplane was being operated by the pilot/owner as a local test flight when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time. The pilot reported that the airplane's canopy came open about 20 feet above the ground and separated during takeoff. The pilot reported his vision was impaired by air blasting his face. The plane then descended to a hard landing on the runway. The pilot/builder applied to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for a special airworthiness inspection, and the FAA inspected the aircraft on two occasions in February 1996. The FAA denied the pilot the airworthiness certificate, at which time the pilot asked to have his application removed. On June 24, 1996, the pilot submitted an application for an experimental airworthiness certificate to an FAA designated airworthiness representative (DAR). The FAA DAR issued the certificate. After the accident, the FAA airworthiness inspectors familiar with the airplane examined it. The FAA inspectors noted the airplane had been modified in a manner defined as major changes in design. One of the modifications concerned the airplane's canopy. After the postaccident examination, the FAA determined "the aircraft was not in a safe condition for operation at the time of the accident."