CEN19LA086

Shortly after takeoff, the pilot noticed that the crew hatch door, located next to the left front seat, had unexpectedly opened. The pilot attempted to close the door without success. He indicated that, while trying to close the door, he "wasn't able to fully control the airplane normally (mainly [in] heading and pitch)," so he initiated a precautionary landing back to the departure airport. While maneuvering at a low altitude to stay in visual flight rules conditions (overcast ceiling at 300 ft), the airplane's airspeed decreased, the wing tips were dipping back and forth, and the airplane exhibited signs of nearing its critical angle of attack. The pilot retracted the landing gear and applied full engine power to try to gain airspeed. The pilot was unable to gain airspeed, and the airplane was losing altitude. Before impact, the pilot kept the wings level and the nose in a slight pitch-up attitude. The airplane then impacted the snow-covered terrain with the landing gear retracted, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing and aileron. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no preimpact malfunctions with the crew hatch door; thus, it is likely the door had not been properly secured before takeoff.

On February 22, 2019, about 0945 central standard time, a Beech 65 airplane, N62069, impacted terrain near Colby, Kansas, while maneuvering for a precautionary landing. The commercial pilot was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by Bemidji Aviation Services, Inc., as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 positioning flight. Day instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed. The flight was originating from Shalz Field Airport (CBK), Colby, Kansas, and destined for Denver, Colorado. According to the pilot, shortly after takeoff, he noticed the crew hatch door, located next to the left front seat, had unexpectedly opened. The pilot attempted to close the door, without success. While focusing on trying to close the door, the pilot "wasn't able to fully control the airplane normally (mainly [in] heading and pitch)," so he initiated a precautionary landing back to CBK. While maneuvering at a low altitude to stay in visual flight rules conditions (overcast ceiling at 300 ft), the airplane's airspeed decreased, and the wing tips were dipping back and forth. The pilot retracted the landing gear and applied full engine power to try and gain airspeed. The pilot was unable to gain airspeed, the airplane was losing altitude, and he knew the airplane was going to impact terrain. Prior to the impact, the pilot kept the wings level, and the nose in a slightly pitch up attitude. The airplane then impacted the snow-covered terrain with the landing gear retracted. Postaccident examination of the airplane by the operator revealed the left wing and left aileron were bent. No evidence was noted that the crew hatch door malfunctioned during the flight.