I was never so scared in my entire life...

[English]

Lock the doors before flight?


Cabin Door Pops Open During Flight


BOSTON (Aug. 26) - Passengers had a terrifying moment when a cabin door blew open at 500 feet during a Boston-to-Nantucket flight, but the airline said no one was in danger because the cabin wasn't pressurized.

"All of a sudden the wind was whipping through the plane," Calley Cutler, of Salem, N.H., told the Boston Globe. "I was never so scared in my entire life."

Cutler and her husband were aboard Cape Air's eight-person Cessna 402 for the Aug. 11 flight. After the incident, the plane returned to Boston's Logan International Airport. It was found to be safe, and the flight went on to Nantucket.

Cape Air spokeswoman Michelle Haynes said the passengers were never in danger.

"It can be a bit disconcerting for passengers when they hear the noise coming from outside, but this was not an emergency by any stretch of the imagination," she said.

The FAA met the plane upon its return to Logan and determined that the door hadn't been properly locked, FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac said. The plane, its door locked, then departed and flew safely to Nantucket.

The Cutlers, however, were so shaken that they took a ferry back to the mainland.

 

[rumpletumbler]

haha....they will have flashbacks now when someone rolls the window down in the car. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mmmdonut]

Thats it! Ground all 402s! It must have had something to do with Al-Qaida! Raise the alert to Orange! GET THE DUCT TAPE! Aieeeeeeeeeeeee!

 

[FN FAL]

The Cutlers, however, were so shaken that they took a ferry back to the mainland....where they promplty got in their car and while driving home, operated their vehicle at ten under the speed limit in the far left lane during light drizzle conditions. The 100 car collision they created killed 5 and sent dozens to the hospital.

I wonder if these Cutlers ever read a newspaper? Everytime there is ferry accident, they find 100 or more bobbing in the sea...and its always caused by something pretty stupid...like some moron forgeting to properly latch the big door on the front.

 

[Swede]

I wonder if these Cutlers ever read a newspaper? Everytime there is ferry accident, they find 100 or more bobbing in the sea...and its always caused by something pretty stupid...like some moron forgeting to properly latch the big door on the front.

It would be the ultimate irony to meet your end traveling on a ferry, train, or worse an interstate because you are afraid to fly. We all know the statistics... highway carnage is huge, much worse than airplanes.

This could evolve into an interesting thread. Just WHAT is it that causes fearful flyers? The ones that choke the arm rests, pour sweat, and drop Valiums like M&M's? Intellectually, most of these people KNOW that flying is safe.

Possibilities - Lack of control, not being "in charge" like when you are driving. Mental images (caused by media) of a crash, headlines like "The LAST terrifying moments for UrbanAir flight 163!!" Claustrophobia? I'm always sorely tempted to really jerk fearful flyers around when they come up to talk before a flight, but in the end they are too pitiful to mess with.

 

[CSY Mon]

Aye, guilty of the same:

Back in my C-402 days, had a charter from SJU to STT, being in a rush, I did not properly latch the nose baggage door, right on rotation it opened up:
Asked the tower for a quick right pattern to land on same runway, pulled off the first exit and jumped out and closed in on the taxiway, cranked up and got another take-off clearence and was airborne shorlty thereafter.

No FAA, no problems and good lesson learned.

About the same time, the same door flew open on a private C-421, suitcases came flying into the left prop, pilot panicked and shut down the wrong engine, plane crasehd, all aboard killed.

Second lesson learned.

A few months later I did another charter, this time in an Aztec.
The door is right next to the co-pilot / pax...It cracked open on take-off...Lots of air rushing in, noise, etc.
Pax freaked out..Managed to close it by side slipping or fancy rudder work while pulling hard on the door handle.

Third lesson learned.

Been very, very carful closing doors ever since...

 

[Brett Hull]

Just WHAT is it that causes fearful flyers?

Possibilities - Lack of control, not being "in charge" like when you are driving.

That would be my CEO. That's exactly what she admitted to me. I think all reason with her goes right out the window when she gets near an airplane. Here's what I have to deal with:

Me: Boss, there's a little weather over the D.C. area. We're going to go over the top of it, but it may get just a little bumpy for about 10 minutes or so.

Her: Is it dangerous?

Me: Uhhh, no. But really wanting to say "Yea, it sure is. I don't know if we'll make it out alive. Do you have your will updated"?

A little turbulence causes her to curl up on the couch in the fetal position.

She was riding on Delta on vacation with her family. There was some bad Wx along the east coast and she went to the cockpit before departure, called our chief pilot from her cell and made the Captain explain to him the weather they were to encounter. I'm not quite sure what our Chief Pilot was going to do about it, though, and I don't think he was either.

Then about 2 weeks ago, my cell rang and it was her. She was sitting at the gate in ATL. They were delayed going to LGA because of Wx and she wanted to know if I was near a weather computer so I could tell her what was going on. I think Delta has access to just a little more info than I do.

 

[FN FAL]

That would be my CEO. That's exactly what she admitted to me. I think all reason with her goes right out the window when she gets near an airplane. Here's what I have to deal with...

...She was riding on Delta on vacation with her family. There was some bad Wx along the east coast and she went to the cockpit before departure, called our chief pilot from her cell and made the Captain explain to him the weather they were to encounter. I'm not quite sure what our Chief Pilot was going to do about it, though, and I don't think he was either.

Then about 2 weeks ago, my cell rang and it was her. She was sitting at the gate in ATL. They were delayed going to LGA because of Wx and she wanted to know if I was near a weather computer so I could tell her what was going on. I think Delta has access to just a little more info than I do.

I hear ya Brett!

Although I do have to admit, I do a DUATS before leaving on an airline flight as a passenger myself...just to see how interesting my trip is going to be.

 

[Lead Sled]

Aw, that was nuthin...

Do you guys remember the military Kingair incident a few years ago where one of the pilots ended up head-first, face-down with his face just inches off of the runway when it landed and literally hugging the door for dear life. Now that was an honest to goodness "door popped open, someone's going to die" story.

Lead Sled

P.S. I always love the part where they say that they were never in any danger - the airplane wasn't pressurized. If the airplane had been pressurized would they have been in any more danger? Yeh right.

 

[rumpletumbler]

Wasn't there some guy who shoved his arm into the prop on an Aerostar coming out of Daytona a few years ago. Someone said he keyed the mike and gave the big AIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! on the radio. Why are people so hell bent on closing it in flight?

Edit. Don't see it on the NTSB site so maybe it falls in the urban legend category.

 

[FN FAL]

P.S. I always love the part where they say that they were never in any danger - the airplane wasn't pressurized. If the airplane had been pressurized would they have been in any more danger? Yeh right.

I hear ya Lead Sled...

One thing is for sure, doors popping open after lift off can kill, whether it's pressurized aircraft or not.

Someone mentioned the cargo door of a piston twins nose locker popping open?

I got interupted during a preflight of a seneca III by a mechanic that was going to ride with me for a mx test flight. He happend to interupt me about the time I was closing and latching the nose locker...just about the time I was going to lock it with the key.

We rotated and that sucker came open on us. Not a big deal, but dang did that plane climb like a turd. Throw in one more misfortune such as one of the engines failing....BRUGGADUNG!

 

[jetexas]

The Cutlers, however, were so shaken that they took a ferry back to the mainland.

A ferry? Don't these people ever watch the news? Those things sink all the time worldwide.

 

[FN FAL]

A ferry? Don't these people ever watch the news? Those things sink all the time worldwide.

Not to mention a bad landing in a ferry can get you killed or maimed. Did they happen to read the news about the recent screw up in New York city with that ferry incident. All they did was glance off a pier. Pier pressure KILLS!

 

[7B2]

After the incident, the plane returned to Boston's Logan International Airport. It was found to be safe, and the flight went on to Nantucket.
The Cutlers, however, were so shaken that they took a ferry back to the mainland.

Ok, I think the Cutlers need some serious help, isn't Boston ON the mainland?

 

[Lead Sled]

One thing is for sure, doors popping open after lift off can kill, whether it's pressurized aircraft or not.

Of course it can kill you, but guys who die when the baggage door of their Mooney or the cabin door of their Cessna, Piper, (FILL IN THE BLANK), etc normally do so because they allow themselves to become distracted and they lose their situational awareness - much like the EAL crew that put their L-1011 into the Florida everglades or the UAL crew that flew into the mountains near SLC, both incidents started with another distractor - a landing gear problem. If it can happen to airline crews with tens of 1000's of hours between them it can happen to any one of us if we're not careful.

A Mooney, Cessna, Bonanza, Aztec, etc will fly perfectly well with any door open. What they won't fly perfectly well with is a pilot that's distracted and not paying attention to the real issues at hand - and an open door is seldom the biggest issue that s/he's facing under those circumstances.

FWIW, I always popped a door on my students to show them that it wan't a big deal unless they turned it into one.

Lead Sled

 

[StarChecker]

FWIW, I always popped a door on my students to show them that it wan't a big deal unless they turned it into one.

Lead Sled

One of the check airmen at Airnet always used to pop a door on takeoff in the Baron. It ended up happening to me at least 4 times....once in UCA in February during a snowstorm.....good times.

 

[flyifrvfr]

Thats it! Ground all 402s! It must have had something to do with Al-Qaida! Raise the alert to Orange! GET THE DUCT TAPE! Aieeeeeeeeeeeee!

And place an ADIZ around the entire United States......

 

[rumpletumbler]

http://simplythebest.net/sounds/WAV/events_WAV/event_WAV_files/alarm.wav

followed by

http://simplythebest.net/sounds/WAV/sound_effects_WAV/sound_effect_WAV_files/plane_crash.wav

 

[FN FAL]

Of course it can kill you, but guys who die when the baggage door of their Mooney or the cabin door of their Cessna, Piper, (FILL IN THE BLANK), etc normally do so because they allow themselves to become distracted and they lose their situational awareness...

...A Mooney, Cessna, Bonanza, Aztec, etc will fly perfectly well with any door open. What they won't fly perfectly well with is a pilot that's distracted and not paying attention to the real issues at hand - and an open door is seldom the biggest issue that s/he's facing under those circumstances.

FWIW, I always popped a door on my students to show them that it wan't a big deal unless they turned it into one.

Lead Sled

On Monday, the door to the plane I was flying popped open three or four times. In fact it popped open on every flight I flew that day.

Funny thing was, the plane lost 1,000 lbs of weight every time it happened, cause everybody got so scared they jumped out.

I just slipped the plane a little and the door swung down. I grabbed it and latched it closed...no biggie.

 

[FracCapt]

He happend to interupt me about the time I was closing and latching the nose locker...just about the time I was going to lock it with the key.

We rotated and that sucker came open on us. Not a big deal, but dang did that plane climb like a turd. Throw in one more misfortune such as one of the engines failing....BRUGGADUNG!

I used to work with a guy many years ago that had a nose baggage door on a Chieftain come open....he said the thing acted like a little wing up there on the left side of the nose, causing a hard right roll. He said he had to keep the yoke turned about 30degrees left of center just to keep the thing flying straight. Throw in any other problems, and it could definitely be a recipe for disaster.

 

[FN FAL]

I used to work with a guy many years ago that had a nose baggage door on a Chieftain come open....he said the thing acted like a little wing up there on the left side of the nose, causing a hard right roll. He said he had to keep the yoke turned about 30degrees left of center just to keep the thing flying straight. Throw in any other problems, and it could definitely be a recipe for disaster.

they just had an accident report in flying magazine. Guy had a door pop open on his bonanza. As he came around on base to final, he pulled the power back and the engine quit. Not that that's supposed to spin you in on final, but it did for this guy.

Come to find out, the guy put the boost pump to "HI" while coming around the pattern.

Imagine that.

 

[Lead Sled]

...What they won't fly perfectly well with is a pilot that's distracted and not paying attention to the real issues at hand - and an open door is seldom the biggest issue that s/he's facing under those circumstances.

As I see it, the biggest problem with situations like these is the pilot allows himself to become distracted from his primary job - flying the fricken airplane. Case in point - the guy in the Bonanza.

 

[Bruce Dickenson]

The Cutlers, however, were so shaken that they took a ferry back to the mainland.

Jeez, get a spine. It's not like the pilot had a diabetic seizure and a student pilot had to land the plane or anything.

 

[AA717driver]

So many Americans these days are afraid of their own shadow. These people were virtually paralyzed with fear over this incident. Look, you made it back alive. You survived and have a great story to tell to the other limp-d!cks at cocktail parties in the Hamptons.

Their "brush with death" has happened to most people who fly for a living. It doesn't even make the top ten scary stories for most of us...

Heck, anyone with any kind of Bonanza time has had at least a couple inflight door openings.TC

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

Fairies wear boots.