# Incident 20010718017589I: Amtr 173RGEXL, Fullerton, CA, July 18, 2001

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 18, 2001, 16:00 local time
- Place: Fullerton, CA
- Airport: Fullerton Municipal
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Forced/Precautionary Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.8720° N, 117.9798° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at FULLERTON MUNI (FUL), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.8720&lon=-117.9798&mi=10
- Aircraft: N678RB (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: AMTR 173RGEXL
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 800 total, 160 in this make and model, 5 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010718017589I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) AT APPROXIMATELY 1600 PDT ON JULY 18, 2001, EXPERIMENTAL AMATEUR BUILT AIRCRAFT VELOCITY, N678RB, WAS PILOTED BY RODNEY M. BRIM, SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE AIRCRAFT, FROM RUNWAY 24 AT FULLERTON AIRPORT, FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA. MR. BRIM STATED THAT HE HAD PREFLIGHT THE AIRCRAFT THE DAY BEFORE AND THOUGHT THAT HE HAD LOCKED THE FORWARD RIGHT DOOR.  THE DOORS ARE GULL WING TYPE CONFIGURATION.  UPON TAKEOFF, THE DOOR POPPED OPEN.  MR. BRIM STATED THAT HE DID NOT HAVE ANY RUNWAY LEFT.  MR. BRIM STATED THAT THE DOOR PROCEEDED TO OPEN VERTICALLY WHICH MADE THE PLANE BECOME BARELY CONTROLLABLE.  MR. BRIM STATED THAT HE TURNED LEFT TO DOWNWIND, WHICH MADE THE AIRCRAFT ROLL INTO A STALL/SPIN CONFIGURATION.  MR. BRIM WAS APPROXIMATELY 200 FEET OFF THE GROUND.  MR. BRIM APPLIED OPPOSITE RUDDER AND AILERON AND PROCEEDED TO MAKE A RIGHT TURN AT FULL POWER, THEREBY FLYING A FIGURE 8 FORMATION UNTIL HE LINED UP WITH THE RUNWAY.  DURING THE LAST TURN, THE DOOR DEPARTED THE AIRCRAFT AND LANDED IN THE PARKING LOT OF FULLERTON TRANSMISSION ON COMMONWEALTH AVENUE IN FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA.  MR. BRIM STATED THAT DURING HIS FINAL APPROACH HE HEARD SOMEONE SAY HIS GEAR WAS UP OVER THE RADIO.  MR. BRIM PROC EEDED TO PUT HIS GEAR DOWN BUT THE GEAR ONLY EXTENDED APPROXIMATELY HALF WAY BEFORE LANDING. THE PILOT COMPLAINED OF SORENESS IN HIS BACK. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED DAMAGE TO ALL THREE TIPS OF THE PROPELLER BLADES, THE RIGHT WING TIP, THE UNDERCARRIAGE OF THE FUSELAGE, AND THE HINGE POINT OF THE FORWARD RIGHT DOOR. THERE WERE NO INJURIES TO PERSONS OR PROPERTY ON THE GROUND.  THIS INCIDENT INVESTIGATION IS NOW CLOSED.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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