- Date
- February 12, 2020, 14:12 local (19:12 UTC)
- Place
- Barnstable, MA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N409BKCessna 402
- Defining event
- Initial climb: Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 25, 2020
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- Case key
- 100939
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to properly secure the crew hatch door before takeoff, which resulted in the door’s forward hinge assembly tearing from its fuselage mount point.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
According to the operator, during initial climb, the door warning light illuminated, and the crew hatch door opened. The door's forward hinge assembly was then torn from its fuselage mount point along with adjacent aircraft skin, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the door safety latch, warning system, and door latching mechanism worked properly. The operator reported that it was possible to latch the door with the forward pin in its proper anchor point and with the aft pin outside the airframe with the warning light extinguished. The operator further reported that, after the accident, this was covered in aircrew training and the company standard operating procedures.
Factual narrative
According to the operator, the airplane was on its initial climb when the door warning light illuminated, and the crew hatch door opened. The door then tore the forward hinge from its mount along with the adjacent aircraft skin, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane. Postaccident examination of the airplane confirmed proper operation of the door safety latch, warning system, and door latching mechanism. The operator explained that it was possible to latch the door with the forward pin in its proper anchor point, and with the aft pin outside the airframe, yet still extinguish the warning light. The operator further reported that this was covered in aircrew training as well as the company standard operating procedures.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N409BK
- Reported as
- Cessna 402 (C)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 402C0651
- Built
- 1982
- Airframe hours
- 28,493
- Engines
- Continental TSIO-520 SER, 325 horsepower, reciprocatingContinental TSIO-520 SER, 325 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Operator
- Hyannis Air Service Inc Dba
- Registered owner
- Hyannis Air Service Inc Dba
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · January 15, 2020 · 40 hours before
- Departed
- HYA · Barnstable, MA
- Destination
- HYA · Barnstable, MA
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- HYA · Barnstable Muni-Boardman/Polan, runway 24, 5,425 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Onboard weather, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 52
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 10,786 total · 2,752 in this make and model · 9,215 as pilot in command · 103 in the last 90 days · 32 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 20 knots, gusting 27
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 39 °F, dew point 10 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.09 inHg
- Observed at
- HYA
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 7, 2020, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.6 MB in all.