# NTSB ANC97LA075: Cessna 207A, N1785U, Minto, AK, April 23, 1997

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report
- Date: April 23, 1997, 11:45 local (19:45 UTC)
- Place: Minto, AK
- Coordinates: 65.150314, -149.369171 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=65.1503&lon=-149.3692&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 1 uninjured
- Status: Completed, report November 10, 1998
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office
- NTSB case key (mKey): 3007
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC97LA075
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/3007/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC97LA075

## Probable cause

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection of the airplane, which resulted in an unlatched door opening in-flight.

## Sequence of events

In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf).

- Miscellaneous/other, cruise
  - door,cargo/baggage - unlatched (cause)
  - aircraft preflight - inadequate, pilot in command (cause)

## Analysis

The scheduled commuter flight was at cruise altitude when the cargo door opened in flight and struck the side of the fuselage.  The airplane landed without mishap.  Postaccident inspection disclosed substantial damage to the fuselage in the area where the door impacted.  The pilot believed he had latched the door prior to takeoff.  Inspection of the door and latching mechanism disclosed no mechanical anomalies.

## Factual narrative

On April 23, 1997, about 1145 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Cessna 207A airplane, N1785U, owned and operated by Frontier Flying Service, and operating as  scheduled commuter flight 526 under 14 CFR Part 135, sustained substantial damage when an aft cargo door opened in cruise flight and struck the right side of the fuselage.  The solo commercial pilot was not injured.  The flight departed Stevens Village, Alaska, about 1123, and was en route to Fairbanks, Alaska, when the accident occurred.  The flight operated in visual meteorological conditions, and a company visual flight rules flight plan was in effect.  The cargo door opened about 22 minutes after departing Stevens Village, and about 20 miles northeast of Minto, Alaska.

According to a Federal Aviation Inspector who spoke with the pilot, the pilot believed he had closed and latched the cargo door prior to departing Stevens Village.  After the door opened in-flight, the pilot elected to continue the flight to Fairbanks, where he made an uneventful landing.

An FAA inspector inspected the door and latching mechanism after the accident.  He reported he could find nothing wrong with the door or its latching mechanism.

Separate conversations with the owner, and the Director of Maintenance of Frontier Flying Service, disclosed a bulkhead, longeron and stringer were damaged when the door struck the side of the fuselage.

## Aircraft

- Registration: N1785U (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: Cessna 207A
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 20700385
- Airframe hours: 11458
- Engines: Continental IO-520-F 300 horsepower reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Part 135
- Registered owner: Frontier Flying Service
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Departed: SVS, STEVENS VILLAGE, AK
- Destination: FAI, FAIRBANKS, AK
- Flight plan: Company VFR

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 25; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 1,831 total, 56 in this make and model, 1,750 as pilot in command, 3 in the last 24 hours

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Visibility: 60 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 57 °F
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg

## 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 19970423012889A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970423012889A), Apr 23, 1997: Cessna 207A, Minto, AK, Substantial damage. The scheduled commuter flight was at cruise altitude when the cargo door opened in flight and struck the side of the fuselage. The airplane landed without…

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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