All five people on a turbine conversion Bonanza survived when the plane crashed on takeoff into the parking lot of a retirement community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on Sunday. The aircraft cabin was consumed in a post-crash fire. The pilot of the plane, registered to a Mannheim, Pennsylvania LLC, told controllers at Lancaster Airport that he had an open door and needed to return to the airport. The pilot said he intended to join the downwind for the departure runway (26) but crashed a short time later.
Please CFIs let your student fly the whole cross country with the door that you popped open on takeoff, open. Teach them that it will fly fine. Distraction and rushing are the usual ingredients to any accident. Prove to them that an open door doesn’t demand either.
I’m not sure you need to fly for an hour or two with the door open to make the point (could get CHILLY in wintertime) but I agree that an instructor-generated door opening and return to land is an essential part of primary AND TRANSITION training.
At flight school our planes had crappy door latches, having the door pop open was a day ending in Y. I am glad I got used to it, for most airplanes it is a total non-event.
A C152 that I used to fly regularly had the right door pop almost every time you advanced power for a touch and go. The procedure was retract flaps, advance power, shut right door.
Lost the canopy on my RV-4 once about five miles from the airport. Not a very pleasant situation but by focusing on flying the plane prevented a similar fate. Deafening noise level, headset & glasses gone, deteriorating vision & hearing from the air stream made for a difficult but not insurmountable situation. By far the worst landing I’ve executed but a heck of a nice feeling parking the plane in one piece, sans canopy, in front of the hangar with a few minutes of somber reflection.
This is very upsetting because it was totally preventable accident. The plane flies fine with the door ajar. Its noisy, and very distracting, but NOT a reason for losing control. Maybe should be added to the Private Pilot syllabus. Talked about during during preflight briefing, then unannounced instructor opens door on takeoff. A good demo for the “startling” factor.
A problem with many older model planes is that the single door is on the copilot (or passenger) side of the plane. So, not only does the pilot have to contend with the noise, wind and distraction of the door, he also may have a panicked passenger to deal with. While it may not instill confidence in a passenger - especially a new to GA person - to talk about the door popping open, it should be an item of discussion prior to the first takeoff.
Having had the front door pop open on a Bonanza on a cold winter day, it can be rather interesting for a person in the right seat. The door geometry is such that the person in the right seat who failed to latch the door correctly… i.e. me… takes what feels like supersonic wind in the fact as they breathe the uninhibited propeller blast.
The person in the left seat has no such issues. They’re just dealing with their neighbor who is now functionally useless and (if they’re prone to panic) may act in all kinds of strange ways. It gets worse if the only competent pilot is in the right seat.
I have no idea what happened in this accident, but there are ways for an open door (at least on a Bo) to bring down a competent pilot.
Had a door pop open after takeoff on a Young Eagles flight. Told the tower I wanted to come around and land on the crosswind runway. Landed and fixed the problem with no panic among the passengers
Recent Vans RV10 fatal at Fullerton CA. Door open on takeoff, then came off. Stall/spin base to final and crashed into building with multiple injuries in building.
I had the 1R door on a Fokker F-28 pop open after takeoff out of CVG long ago. It was LOUD. I thought that old Rolls Royce Spey was on my jumpseat. A bit of elevated conversation, but no biggie. Prioritize and by that I mean, fly the plane 1st above all else and do not rush. Same thing with a Bellanca Viking I owned. Door came unlatched (my fault), I ignored the noise, flew the plane and returned to resecure. Crashing will make a lot more noise than an open door or window.
Some years back I had partial door open event on take-off from Rapid City, SD in my Piper Arrow. The top latch of the three-latch system on the Arrow had not been engaged during preflight–surface winds at the time were 20 kts., gusting to 35 kts., which contributed to distraction during preflight checks. Having read some many accounts of pilots coming to grief trying to re-close doors in midflight, and because of the very strong/gusty surface winds, I elected to continue the flight to our first refueling stop in Sheldon, IA (KSHL), where winds were more benign. My right seat passenger (wife) was a little concerned, but other than being a little noisy and cold, the rest of the flight was uneventful.
Is it possible that the rear-facing door of the double-door set for the rear seat came open, was blown backwards by airflow, and disrupted the airflow over the right stabilizer making the plane uncontrollable?
That was my exact first thought what may have happened with the detraction and panic. Even if it was the right front door that was cracked open, I wonder how strong the rear “suicide” door has on the hinge stop design to keep it from bending all the way back into the fuselage. Pretty scary thought with a door banging up against the fuselage bent backwards, right next to the right horizontal stabilizer.
Bonanza BBBP clinics used to simulate the open door distraction as part of every pilot’s training flight. Also, procedures for cranking the landing gear by hand. Neither an emergency. Hope they still do that.