20140509006129I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Hoang Son Thia RV10 · Van Nuys, CA · May 9, 2014

Date: May 9, 2014 · 09:50 local
Place: Van Nuys, CA
Airport: Van Nuys
Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N172KT
Reported as: Hoang Son Thia RV10
Reported engine: Lycoming IO-540-D4A5
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificate: Private pilot
Pilot’s flight hours: 60 in this make and model

N172KTRegistered now · Hoang Son Thia RV10S/N 002 · Built 2007 Airframe modelHoang Son Thia RV10 Engine modelLycoming IO-540-D4A5Reciprocating

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Iic spoke with pilot. Pilot stated that he properly latched door before takeoff. Shortly after takeoff, pilot heard a buffeting noise, looked down, and noticed the pilot door was unlatched. Pilot radioed vny ATCT and turned around to head back to vny, Van Nuys, CA, and noticed the door was no longer on aircraft. Pilot reported door landed in a flood control basin 2 miles south of vny airport.

As the FAA filed it

IIC SPOKE WITH PILOT. PILOT STATED THAT HE PROPERLY LATCHED DOOR BEFORE TAKEOFF. SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, PILOT HEARD A BUFFETING NOISE, LOOKED DOWN, AND NOTICED THE PILOT DOOR WAS UNLATCHED. PILOT RADIOED VNY ATCT AND TURNED AROUND TO HEAD BACK TO VNY, VAN NUYS, CA, AND NOTICED THE DOOR WAS NO LONGER ON AIRCRAFT. PILOT REPORTED DOOR LANDED IN A FLOOD CONTROL BASIN 2 MILES SOUTH OF VNY AIRPORT.