# NTSB ANC09LA017: Cessna 207A, N39AK, Hoonah, AK, December 31, 2008

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report
- Date: December 31, 2008, 10:40 local (14:40 UTC)
- Place: Hoonah, AK
- Coordinates: 58.177776, -135.258895
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=58.1778&lon=-135.2589&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Enroute-cruise: Miscellaneous/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 2 uninjured
- Status: Completed, report May 12, 2009
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office
- Parties: FAA AL-JNU FSDO 05
- NTSB case key (mKey): 73191
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC09LA017
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/73191/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC09LA017

## Probable cause

The pilot's failure to ensure that the aft cargo door was properly latched and locked prior to departure, which resulted in an in-flight opening of the aft cargo door and subsequent damage to the airplane.

## Findings

NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause.

- [Doors: cargo/baggage doors](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01035230): Aircraft › Aircraft structures · Incorrect use/operation (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 207A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01035230/cases.md?model=2073605), [All aircraft, 9 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01035230/cases.md)
- [Action: incomplete action](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041040): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 207A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041040/cases.md?model=2073605), [All aircraft, 105 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041040/cases.md)
- [Use of equip/info: use of equip/system](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 207A, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md?model=2073605), [All aircraft, 1,391 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md)

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Prior to flight: Aircraft inspection event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/050); cases with it: [Cessna 207A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/050/sequence.md?model=2073605), [All aircraft, 229 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/050/sequence.md)
- [Enroute-cruise: Miscellaneous/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 207A, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900/sequence.md?model=2073605), [All aircraft, 1,556 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900/sequence.md)

## Analysis

The commercial pilot departed on a VFR commuter flight when about 10 minutes after takeoff the aft cargo door opened. The door, which is hinged to open in a rearward direction, struck the right side of the fuselage, producing structural damage to the fuselage and door. The flight continued to its destination and landed without incident. No cargo or mail was lost during the event. According to the airplane's information manual, the forward cargo door is opened first. The aft door can then be opened by grasping the red handle on the forward edge of the door, and pulling downward to release its locking pawls. The cargo doors may be locked from the inside or outside, and the airplane manual states that "Both doors must be securely closed and the forward door locked prior to flight..." During a telephone conversation with the NTSB Investigator-In-Charge, the director of maintenance for the operator reported that during his postaccident inspection of the airplane, he did not detect any malfunction of the cargo door latch mechanism.

## Factual narrative

On December 31, 2008, about 1040 Alaska Standard time, a Cessna 207A airplane, N39AK, sustained substantial damage when the aft cargo door opened in flight, about 7 miles north-northeast of Hoonah, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) commuter flight under Title 14, CFR Part 135, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated as Flight 15, by Wings of Alaska, Juneau, Alaska. The commercial certificated pilot, and the sole passenger, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and VFR company flight following procedures were in effect. The flight originated at the Juneau Airport about 1029, and was en route to Hoonah. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on January 5, 2009, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, Juneau Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), reported that the airplane was in cruise flight at 3,000 feet msl, over the Sisters Island VOR, when the aft cargo door suddenly opened. The door, which is hinged to open in a rearward direction, struck the right side of the fuselage, producing structural damage to the fuselage and door. The flight continued to Hoonah, and landed without incident. No cargo or mail was lost during the event. According to the Cessna 207A information manual, Section 7 states, in part, that the forward cargo door is opened by pivoting the door handle outward from its recessed position near the aft edge of the forward door, and then pulling outward on the handle. After the forward door is opened, the aft door may be opened by grasping the red handle on the forward edge of the door, and pulling downward to release its locking pawls. The cargo doors are locked from the inside by rotating the inside handle counterclockwise to the "Locked" position, and when locked, the door cannot be opened from the outside. The outside cargo door handle can be used to lock the forward door by pivoting the handle out of its recess, and moving the vertical tab of the connecting link outward from behind the handle to engage a detent at its forward end. Pushing the handle back into its recess will rotate the inside handle toward the locked position. The handle can then be locked via key. The information manual notes that, "Both doors must be securely closed and the forward door locked prior to flight..." During a telephone conversation with the NTSB IIC, on January 5, the director of maintenance for the operator reported that he inspected the airplane in Hoonah on December 31. He said he did not detect any malfunction of the cargo door latch mechanism.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N39AK](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N39AK), registered now, S/N 20700597, built 1980 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 207A
- Registry model: [Cessna 207A](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-207a) (registry code 2073605) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Continental IO-520-F](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-f) (registry code 17237, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 20700597
- Airframe hours: 26106
- Engines: Continental IO-520 300 horsepower reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Part 135
- Operator: Alaska Juneau Aeronautics Inc., doing business as Wings of Alaska
- Registered owner: Wings Airline Services Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Last inspection: 100 hour, December 1, 2008, 53 hours before
- Departed: PAJN, Juneau, AK
- Destination: PAOH, Hoonah, AK
- Flight plan: Company VFR

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 120° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 19 °F, dew point 5 °F
- Altimeter: 29.68 inHg
- Observed at: PAOH, 7 nm away

## 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 20081231857469A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20081231857469A), Dec 31, 2008: Cessna 207A, Hoonah, AK, Substantial damage. N39AK, wings of Alaska flight 15, a Cessna 207A aircraft, while in cruise flight over sisters island Alaska the right rear cargo door opened. Aircraft…

## Other investigations on N39AK (1)

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.

- [NTSB ANC05CA089](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC05CA089), Jul 3, 2005: Cessna 207A (N39AK), Excursion Inlet, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from a building during taxi from landing, which resulted in structural damage to the left wing when it struck the building.

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.

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