19990719009319A

Information received from airport manager. Aircraft departed runway 20, aircraft cargo door opened, pilot continued in local pattern attempting to return and land runway 20. Aircraft landed short on aircraft property in a corn field northwest on runway 20 approach end. (.19) on July 19, 1999, at 0805 central daylight time, a Mooney M20F, N7141V, owned and piloted by an instrument rated private pilot, received substantial damage on impact with terrain during an approach to runway 20 (3,205 feet by 75 feet, asphalt) at Marshall Municipal-Ryan Field Airport (mml), Marshall, Minnesota. The pilot reported that the aircraft baggage door opened after lift-off from runway 12 (5,010 feet by 100 feet, asphalt) at mml. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR part 91 flight was operating on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. The pilot reported no injuries. The personal flight was originating at the time of the accident and was en route to chandler field airport, alexandria, Minnesota. The pilot reported that the accident aircraft, which he used for personal transportation, was based at mml. He stated that when he received a 15-20 minute delay for an IFR release from the princeton flight service station, he taxied out to runway 12, shut the engine down and exited the aircraft to obtain a bottle of cleaner from the aircraft's baggage compartment to clean the interior of the aircraft's windshield. After cleaning the windshield, he then placed the bottle of cleaning fluid on the rear seat and restarted the engine. He added that he did not double check if the latch on the baggage door was secured nor did he utilize a checklist after securing the cabin door. The pilot stated that the baggage door opened after lifting off at a point approximaately 1/2 down runway 12. The pilot stated that he thought about aborting the takeoff on the remaining runway but elected to continue the climb and return to the airport. The pilot reported that during his return, he maintained visual sight of the airport and entered a left downwind for runway 20; he did not recall his distance from the runway. He added that he overshot the turn to final and subsequently stalled the aircraft while attempting to return to runway's centerline in a 45 degree banked turn with the landing gear and 10 degrees of flaps extended. The pilot stated that he added power during his stall recovery. The pilot also stated that he did not choose to land on runway 12 since he did not want to damage a citation jet, which was number one for departure on runway 12. He stated there were no problems with the door and that the door always latched "tight". (-23)after takeoff, baggage door opened and pilot attempted to circle airport for landing in IFR conditions with 200 overcast and 3/4 mile visibility. Pilot overshoot runway centerline and in steep turn, aircraft stalled, aircraft hit corn field and drainage ditch.