- Date
- January 31, 1991, 19:37 local (Feb 1, 1991, 00:37 UTC)
- Place
- Charlotte, NC
- Injuries
- 5 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N844AEBritish Aerospace BAE Jetstream 3201
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report May 5, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910131001309I
- Case key
- 8343
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
On this page
Probable cause
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The failure of the captain to follow checklist procedures, resulting in a flight with the cabin door unsecured, and the subsequent loss of the cabin door.
Analysis
After the no. 2 engine started, the flight crew noticed a cabin door open light. The captain shut down the no. 1 engine, and signaled to the ground crew to check the door. The captain recycled the door warning circuit breaker several times, and the light extinguished. On climbout, passing 7,000 feet, the cabin door suddenly separated from the airplane. The flight returned to the departure airport and landed without further problems. The investigation revealed that the ground crew did not understand the captain's intentions, and did not check the door for security. The captain did not follow checklist procedures for dealing with a door light on the ground. The ramp agent, the last person to close the door, had not operated jetstream doors prior to the day of the incident. Examination of the aircraft and the recovered door revealed no evidence of malfunction or failure.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N844AE
- Reported as
- British Aerospace BAE Jetstream 3201 (BAE JETSTR)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 844
- Engine
- Garrett TPR331-12UAR, 1,050 lbs thrust, turbo prop
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Nashville Eagle
- Registered owner
- First Security Bank Of Utah
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- CLT · Charlotte, NC
- Destination
- BNA · Nashville, TN
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- CLT · Douglas Int'L
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 37
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 6,392 total · 500 in this make and model · 3,917 as pilot in command · 160 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 320° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 12 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CLT, 12 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.