# NTSB ANC04LA099: Cessna U206G, N9178G, Yakutat, AK, July 29, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 29, 2004, 10:00 local (18:00 UTC) - Place: Yakutat, AK - Coordinates: 59.503334, -139.660278 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=59.5033&lon=-139.6603&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 28, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: US Department of the Interior - NTSB case key (mKey): 60029 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC04LA099 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/60029/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC04LA099 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection, and his failure to secure the cargo door, which resulted in the cargo door coming open during the takeoff roll. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Miscellaneous/other, takeoff - roll/run - door,cargo/baggage - not secured (cause) - aircraft preflight - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis The operator of the Title 14, CFR Part 91 flight reported that during the takeoff roll, the aft cargo door opened and struck the fuselage, which resulted in substantial damage to several fuselage stringers. The operator noted that the pilot had opened the cargo door prior to the accident flight to load equipment. Postaccident inspection by the operator's maintenance personnel disclosed no mechanical problem with the door, and the operator reported the door could not be inadvertently opened when it was properly closed and latched. ## Factual narrative On July 29, 2004, about 1000 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna U206G airplane, N9178G, sustained substantial damage when the aft cargo door came open during the takeoff roll, and damaged the fuselage, at the Yakutat Airport, Yakutat, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by the US Department of the Interior as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country transportation flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. The commercial pilot and sole passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a VFR flight plan was filed. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on August 26, the director of maintenance for the operator said during an inspection of the accident airplane he discovered unreported substantial damage to the airplane's fuselage. He said he traced the damage to an incident where the aft cargo door opened during a takeoff roll, and baggage fell onto the runway. He said the pilot told him he checked the door for damage, but did not see significant damage to the fuselage. The director of maintenance said several fuselage stringers aft of the cargo door will have to be replaced. In a written statement from a US Department of the Interior investigator dated September 1, the investigator reported no mechanical deficiencies with the cargo door latching mechanism, and that he could not duplicate a way for the cargo door to inadvertently open when it was properly secured. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N9178G](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N9178G), registered now, S/N U20603803, built 1977 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna U206G - Registry model: [Cessna U206G](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-u206g) (registry code 2073356) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental IO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (registry code 17032, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: U20603803 - Airframe hours: 5841 - Engines: Continental IO-520-F 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Public aircraft, Part 91 - Registered owner: US Department of the Interior - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, June 19, 2004, 67 hours before - Departed: PAYA, Yakutat, AK - Destination: Dry Bay, AK - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: PAYA, Yakutat, runway 11, 7,745 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 55; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review December 9, 2002; seat: left; flight hours: 2,958 total, 2,958 as pilot in command, 114 in the last 90 days, 28 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 10 statute miles ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20040729034169A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040729034169A), Jul 29, 2004: Cessna U206G, Yakutat, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) Aircraft on takeoff roll out of yak the aft cargo door opened. Takeoff was aborted and pilot examined aircraft for damage. Not noting any damage… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.