General Aviation Aircraft Door Falls on a Road in Lahore

[Abbas Ali]

Today, a small door belonging to a general aviation aircraft fell on a road in Muslim Town in Lahore without causing any loss of life or property on the ground. The aircraft was flying from & to Walton Aerodrome. Investigation has been started by aviation authorities. Aircraft type and operator not mentioned in news reports.

The road looks like Canal Road.






Police Response Unit (PRU) Toyota Corolla at the site of incident.

Abbas

[Abbas Ali]

The door apparently belongs to a Diamond DA42 Twin Star which is a four-seat, twin-engine light utility and trainer aircraft.





For comparison note the shape of passenger door of the aircraft in following photos:


Diamond DA42 Twin Star G-ZAZU Booker 23/08/14 by Vince Horan, on Flickr


G-PEEK by Gavin, on Flickr

By the way, Hybrid Aviation based at Walton Aerodrome in Lahore has a Diamond DA42 Twin Star registered in Pakistan as AP-BMR.

Abbas

[bnm]

Door and its glass seems quite strong, neither broke nor scratched.

[TAILWIND]

Door and its glass seems quite strong, neither broke nor scratched.

I was about to say the same.....

[Abbas Ali]

Final Investigation Report by Safety Investigation Board (SIB) on Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) website: https://www.caapakistan.com.pk/Upload/S ... IB-414.pdf

3.1 Findings

3.1.1 On 20 September 2018, during pre-flight inspection for a training flight, the crew missed out to check thoroughly the door lock position.
3.1.2 During flight at the end of downwind, an audible warning along with door open light appeared on PFD, and the door lock opened. This lead to the opening of the door and its separation from aircraft body.
3.1.3 The flown off door and its locking handle were thoroughly examined and found without any technical anomaly.
3.1.4 The door locking handle was found in open position and bent because of impact on ground after the occurrence. However the door locking mechanism was found in a serviceable condition.
3.1.5 The aircraft skin / body adjoining the door hinges had indication of a sheared off condition.
3.1.6 As a consequence of the door flying off in the air, it caused damage by hitting the right engine cowling.
3.1.7 There had been similar cases of door detachment in the air in other countries but almost all the cases were due to improper locking (partial locking of the door) by the crew.
3.1.8 The pilot did not announce (during flight) the emergency situation to the ATC.
3.1.9 The operator did not report the incident contrary to the prescribed procedures.

3.2 Cause of the Occurrence.

The passenger door flew off in the air because it was not properly locked and the crew missed out to check thoroughly door handle position during pre-flight inspection.

4. SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1 The involved Flight Instructor is to undergo DA-42 aircraft normal & emergency procedures refresher training. The compliance report may be submitted to Directorate of Flight Standards CAA Pakistan upon completion, with intimation to SIB.
4.2 Directorate of Flight Standards CAA Pakistan may issue instructions to General Aviation flying units for compliance of OEM recommended procedures mentioned in QRH and regulatory procedures as per PCAA approved Ops Manual and to informing ATC of any in-flight incident / abnormal situations in order to alert the emergency services.
4.3 DDG (Reg) CAA Pakistan may issue instructions to all General Aviation Flying Units about timely reporting of occurrences / abnormal situations to CAA Authorities as per in-vogue procedures.

Abbas

[Ilyushin76]

1.17.2 Captain of the aircraft did not inform ATC about the occurrence on losing his aircraft’s passenger door while in the air as well as after the landing. The aircraft was parked inside their maintenance hangar and covered, besides closing down the hanger doors.


Typical of Hybrid Aviation. Father son run off to find an official to bribe to save their asses.