What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
The scheduled commuter flight was at cruise altitude when the cargo door opened in flight and struck the side of the fuselage. The airplane landed without mishap. Postaccident inspection disclosed substantial damage to the fuselage in the area where the door impacted. The pilot believed he had latched the door prior to takeoff. Inspection of the door and latching mechanism disclosed no mechnical enomalies.
As the FAA filed it
THE SCHEDULED COMMUTER FLIGHT WAS AT CRUISE ALTITUDE WHEN THE CARGO DOOR OPENED IN FLIGHT AND STRUCK THE SIDE OF THE FUSELAGE. THE AIRPLANE LANDED WITHOUT MISHAP. POSTACCIDENT INSPECTION DISCLOSED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE FUSELAGE IN THE AREA WHERE THE DOOR IMPACTED. THE PILOT BELIEVED HE HAD LATCHED THE DOOR PRIOR TO TAKEOFF. INSPECTION OF THE DOOR AND LATCHING MECHANISM DISCLOSED NO MECHNICAL ENOMALIES.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.