Door Popped Open In Flight (Valuable Lessons Learned)

[201er]

Also make sure when you unlock the door, from being locked you turn the lock all the way to the unlock position or else in flight it can relock which locked my dumb ass inside the plane and when I shut down and realized my situation I had to call airport maintenance to come let me out of my own plane!!!!

Could have been bad in a emergancy!

Woah! Could you explain how this is possible to happen? I hope you were aware that you'd be able to get out of the baggage door even if locked if no one was there to help you out?

[MARZ]

Byron, "pilots" can actually be your worst case cause you take for granted they can do it right when it turns out they don't. You'd automatically check twice if a nonpilot did it. That's part of my cautionary tale.

I can attest to that - it didn't happen to me but my boss in his two month new to him Baron 58  - he had traded a 55  - co pilot was the corp. plane pilot. 

 

They were headed to OSH and landed halfway from Texas to fuel.  On takeoff the door popped - circle back and land, close the door, takeoff again - the door popped, this time they landed and decided to have a mechanic look at it, being Saturday they decided to rent a car and drive the rest of the way (10 hours.)   The owner called the home field and the trusted mechanic flew up to Missouri to check things out, but not before asking if they had closed the door properly - assured that they had, the mechanic flew up. 

The mechanic arrived checked things out and didn't find any fault.  Got in the plane took off, flew around, made a couple landings and take offs - no issue.  Upon closer inspection he found a small mark / dent where the protruding lock pin had struck the door sill. 

 

The "Pilot" passenger did not open the latch fully prior to closing the door.......

 

From what I hear the ride back from OSH to pick up the plane was fraught with occasional expletives

[Marauder]

Not that I noticed. I think that that is more of an issue when pulling negative g's. I have to ask. Is the moniker an homage to the B-26 or does it have some other meaning? Jim

You get the gold star! Very few people, even in pilot communities know about the B-26.

[jetdriven]

I flew a 1956 G-35 Bonanza from Fargo to St. Paul a few years ago with a door open. It was the dead of winter and literally -10F outside. After liftoff, the door popped open. I flew about ten miles south to some small field, landed, and closed the door.  After takeoff it blew open again.  Now -10F is one thing, -10F at 150 knots is something else. Me, being from south Texas, was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a windbreaker.  After an hour flight, I was so cold I could not get out of the seat. Flaring was difficult; I couldnt move my arm.   Freezing to death must be a good way to die because you dont feel anything near the end.  It took two hours in the FBO to regain feeling and mental function.

 

Now I was G-D sure I closed that door, but it wouldnt latch over-center properly. The plane wasnt going to fly itselt to Kinston, NC, and I wasn't about to wait around or quit the trip.  And I'd rather wrestle a bear with a salmon around my neck, than fly that plane with the door open. A real new commercial pilot pickle.  Thinking on this a few minutes, I took the fuel tester, took a screw from the sunvisor, wedged it into the slot on the Beech door latch in front of that pin inside,  and rammed the door lock handle home with the strength of the damned.  It didnt pop open again, but getting it open was a chore as well.

 

After that, me and that old Bonanza got along just fine. We could also put 15 knots on my friend's Cardinal RG.

[sleepingsquirrel]

You get the gold star! Very few people, even in pilot communities know about the B-26.

My dad worked on the wings as a teenager . Too young to join at first so he went to work in a factory deburring the rivet holes, and applying zinc chromate .

[29-0363]

Through (my own) inadequate pre-flight checking I had the baggage door open at about 45 KTS while accelerating for take-off.  Instinctively I closed the throttle, but what happened next was a lesson I wasn't expecting.

 

The rudder trim set for take-off is fine as long as you're barrelling down the runway at full power, but the instant that power comes off everything is reversed and the yaw generated from the rudder setting almost sent me off into the rough.  Now it's instinctive to put the boot into the rudder when you do a touch and go, but I was not prepared for the opposite.  The previous (and only) time I aborted a take-off was while training in 1977 in a Grumman AA-1B with only a fraction of the horsepower.

 

That incident certainly made me more respectful of the relationship between the rudder and the power settings, and as well as being ready to put the boot in on take-off,  one of my pre-landing checks is to trim the rudder mid-position (from top of descent), with both feet firmly on the rudder for balance as required. 

[N177MC]

We could also put 15 knots on my friend's Cardinal RG.

 

Now, now, was that last remark really necessary ?  

[RJBrown]

Two episodes:

I rented a C-172 to fly around Maui and over to the big island. While making the flight the door popped open multiple times. Not a preflight issue but a worn out old POS beater.  No affect on flight at all just an annoyance. Fortunately it was my side and not my new wives.

 Heading SW out of Denver the air was smooth until about Salida. As we closed on the continental divide we ran into a sharp jolt of turbulence. All of a sudden there was a rythmic thumping sound on the right ride. The leather belt that ties around my wives coat had been sucked out and was beating on my new paint job. She could not pull it in and had to open the door to pull in the belt and stop the noise. Low airspeed and a slip allowed us to close the door. Air sucks out at the door bottom so if anything gets closed in the door it just keeps moving outward with each flex of the airplane. She is has been careful to not close the door on her clothing ever since.

[jetdriven]

Speaking of Cessna doors, I remember my primary instructor in Cessna 150s and 152s demonstrating that the aircraft could be turned using the doors.  Push on the right door and the plane turns to the left, and vice versa.  It actually worked very well and would be good to know in the event of some sort of bizarre control failure.  

 

Jim  

 

Or landing a 172 in a 40 knot crosswind, open the door for more yaw control. Yes I did that.

[Earl]

I had a door pop open on a flight.  Supposedly you slow the plane to 95 kts and open the vent on the pilots window.  Did not try that as I was by myself.  Just landed, closed it and took off again.

[AmigOne]

I had doors open a couple of times, as a pilot and as a passenger in a turboprop Bonanza, IMC and it got really cold, windy in the rear seat (where I was) and nosy in a hurry.  Bonanza doors are know to open if improperly closed.  In my Mooney M20C the door did not open, my copilot friend left the seatbelt out and I noticed by the noise as I was rotating into an 800 ft overcast.  He also realized and opened the to door bring the belt in but could close it as he was unfamiliar withe the mechanism. Also in trying to force the door to close he ripped off the handle !!! so I turned back and landed.  I did not noticed any unusual behavior with the airplane, only the pilot.  I was really pissed but it was my fault to asume that another pilot would not forget his seatbelt.  On top the ATC controller chewed me out when I called from the ground to cancel the clearance on the phone because he had "kept a lot of airspace open for me".  

I had the baggage door open in a 201 after t/o and that was a mess, the door became a wing, the plastic ripped off in half and everything inside the cabin started to fly all over.  Don't recall any unusual behavior with the airplane but the maelstrom inside the cockpit was really distracting. 

[Hector]

As a new Mooney owner I've had to learn this lesson twice already. Both times I let the passenger close the door but failed to double check. The top lock has popped open in flight but have been able to close the door by slowing way down. I no longer allow anyone but me to close the door. This also saves me the trouble of having to explain why there is no need to slam the door close. Both times I did not notice any adverse flying response, just more noise.

[Hank]

The door popped open about three minutes into my wife's first ride, because she's too independent to let me close the door for her. It was a little loud and breezy, we discussed it, I went back and landed, shut the door and took off again. Didn't notice anything on the controls. She's the only passenger I allow to close the door, although some helpful people slam it two or three times before I can ask them not to. I've learned to be quick on that request!

 

Another time the baggage door popped open due to interrupted preflight, I guess I didn't get the latch thrown. The first thing I noticed was a draft on the back of my neck. Lost a few papers and a rag from the hatrack. No handling changes then, either.

 

Must be the benefit of the optimized C-model design!   Five and a half years, each door popped open one time each.

[Bennett]

I had the door pop open on my old Dakota - no big deal. Just had the passenger (certificated pilot)  hold it by the armrest to keep it stable.  Landed, and re-shut it properly.

After I had my 201 reupholstered the new wind stop was a bit too thick for the upper pin setting, and the door popped open in flight  - again no problem, and again the passenger was a certificated pilot (CFII), and I adjusted the pin upon landing to compensate for the extra thickness. In my prior Mooney the door popped open in the flight levels.  That was freezing cold! But with the help of a pilot passenger, I did the "open the vent window and slip" maneuver, and we closed the door without a further problem. 

 

In all three instances there was a great deal of noise, and "stuff" blowing around the cabin, but no flight control problems.  I can see how a new pilot could become distracted, or a non pilot passenger might be alarmed, but the old story: "First fly the airplane" holds well here.

 

In another Mooney I owned I had the baggage door open in flight. I watched my jacket being sucked out of the baggage compartment, where it caught on the horizontal stabilizer.  Stuff in the jacket was banging on the stabilizer like crazy, and then the jacket slid off and I watched it flutter to the ground in a farmer's field.  I immediately landed at the nearest airport to inspect the damage.  The baggage door was just fine - nothing bent. The horizontal stabilizer showed some minor denting on the leading edge and top.  While I was looking at all this a farmer drove up. He had heard the airplane, saw the jacket falling, and decided to bring it to the nearest airport (Rio Vista).  He would not take a reward, (my wallet was in the jacket), and was genuinely happy to see that nothing was really damaged.

 

Lessons:

1. Nobody but me closes and latches the door in my current Mooney.
2. I lock the baggage door from the outside before every flight, and instruct any passengers how to open the baggage door (even when locked) from within. (I have had the newest latch mechanism installed), and
3. When in anyone else's aircraft, I ask them to close and latch the door, as they know that particular airplane's idiosyncrasies.

[fantom]

Lessons:

1. Nobody but me closes and latches the door in my current Mooney.

2. I lock the baggage door from the outside before every flight, and instruct any passengers how to open the baggage door (even when locked) from within. (I have had the newest latch mechanism installed), and

3. When in anyone else's aircraft, I ask them to close and latch the door, as they know that particular airplane's idiosyncrasies.

Excellent lessons Bennett, especially #1 when the passenger is a well endowed female ;-)

[Bennett]

Fantom. Right about # 1

[piperpainter]

I'll admit to having accidently not latched the rear door, this happend when I had a passenger  . And right as you reach takeoff speed it'll pop open! However if you keep it slow it won't rip off! Staying calm is also important!

I've also had someone "shut the door," and it didn't shut all the way(didn't seal so it let air in). It was a cold flight from Tok, AK to Ketchican, AK @ 13K.  I've learned to only let select passengers close the door, and even so I verify it is closed prior to takeoff. Also if I am concerned about the hatch and I am by myself I can set the parking brake, roll the seat all the way back and push up on the door. That sometimes makes me feel better!