LAX99IA072

During takeoff, a passenger in row 32 saw the rear cargo door open as the airplane rotated and notified a flight attendant, who immediately advised the cockpit. The flight crew heard and felt bangs and airframe vibrations, declared an emergency, and returned for a landing without incident. Airport fire personnel saw the cargo door open 90 degrees and the handle to be in or flush with the door as it stopped on the runway. Crew interviews established that the airplane was late being repositioned to the loading area for a scheduled 0830 departure and arrived there at 0800. The captain said the flight engineer was hustling to finish his duties before departure, and after that he performed his final walk-around, which included checking the cargo doors, there were no cargo door lights on the annunciator panel. The captain said that the load manifest showed 172 passengers; 168 passengers were already on the airplane and 2 others arrived late. The ground handlers gave him a final count of 202 bags loaded in the cargo compartments before the late arriving passengers. The ground handling company stated they were positive they loaded a total of 202 bags onboard the airplane, although 5-6 bags were loaded just before the aircraft left. A postincident bag count revealed that there were 208 bags onboard the airplane. The ground handling company said that they were not rushed while working the airplane. With the handle closed, the door will not close flush with the doorframe. The aft cargo door proximity switch was tested and contamination was found between contact terminals; however, no determination could be made whether it would cause an indication anomaly on the annunciator panel. The cargo door open warning light and circuit functioned normally during postincident functional tests. According to the airline's Flight Operations Manual, the flight engineer is responsible for supervising the loading of the aircraft and ensuring that all doors are properly closed and locked.

History of flight

On January 5, 1999, at 0951 hours mountain standard time, a Boeing 727-225A, N804MA, Miami Air flight 665, declared an in-flight emergency right after takeoff and returned to an uneventful landing on runway 26R at Sky Harbor Airport, Phoenix, Arizona. The flight was on a nonscheduled domestic passenger flight operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 121 and was destined for Nashville, Tennessee. The airplane sustained minor damage as a result of an open aft cargo door. The 3 flight crew, 5 flight attendants, and 170 passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the incident. The airplane was on an IFR flight plan and clearance to Nashville.

The airplane had just departed runway 8R and was climbing through 1,000 feet when they had reports from a passenger in row 32 that he observed an open cargo door. He brought this to the attention of a rear flight attendant, who verified the observation and immediately notified the cockpit. Immediately after notifying the cockpit of the situation, the flight attendant and passenger observed the door fly all the way open. The captain stated that he looked at the flight engineer's panel and "did not see a door light." He said that a substantial bang was heard and felt throughout the airframe. A review of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Phoenix Tracon north departure air-ground communications transcripts revealed that the crew declared an emergency at 0953:28, and stated their intention to return for a landing on runway 26R. After they declared an emergency, they commenced an emergency dump of fuel and landed successfully.

The Safety Board interviewed the passenger sitting in row 32F on January 8, 1999. The passenger said that as the airplane began to power off the runway, he noticed a compartment door "pop" open. He said he notified a flight attendant in the rear jumpseat who looked at it and quickly called the cockpit about an open cargo bay door. He stated that about that time, the airplane decelerated and leveled off. He said one of the cockpit crewmembers came on the public address (PA) system and notified the passengers that they were going to declare an emergency and that they would be returning to the airport. He also said that they stated that they did not have a warning light on in the cockpit. He said he could not see the position of the door handle from where he was sitting. He said that when he first noticed the door, it was about 40 percent open. Shortly after that, he said the airflow forced it all the way open.

The Safety Board contacted airport operations and asked if they might have security videotape monitoring of the airplane as it pushed back from the ramp area. Airport officials said they did not have any videotape from the affected area. Additionally, since the airplane was taxing with the cargo door facing away from the ramp area, no eyewitnesses were found on any adjacent ramp areas to verify the condition of the cargo door prior to takeoff.

Responding airport fire department units from the Aviation Fire Operations Center provided the Safety Board with a statement regarding their observations immediately after arriving at the airplane. They stated that about 0955, Station 19 responded to an "Alert II" involving a charter 727. The airplane declared an unknown emergency following their departure from Phoenix airport. Upon RIV-19's arrival at their predesignated staging area, they observed an inbound aircraft approaching runway 26R at a low altitude, which was trailed by jettisoned fuel. As the aircraft came to a stop on the runway they inspected the airplane's exterior and observed that the right rear cargo door was open. The fire personnel stated the latch on the cargo door was "closed or flush with the surface of the exterior skin of the door," and that one article of cargo was partially protruding from the cargo bay.

Following the shutdown of the No. 3 engine, the determination was made that it was safe for the aircraft to taxi to its designated parking area, and Station 19 equipment accompanied them to that location.

A mechanic from Dimension Aviation said he was one of the first people to respond to the Boeing 727 after it arrived back on the ramp. He said he drove a company van to the No. 3 engine area and parked it abeam the engine. He said he stood on top of a rack, which was located on top of the van. He said he noticed that the aft cargo door was in a 90-degree position to the airframe. He said he also noticed that the inner door liner and insulation blanket was hanging down. He stated that the both the door handle and the hold-open rod were in the stowed position. He said he grabbed the door handle and tried to close the door, and in the process, the handle came out to the open position. He said he was at the airplane before the FAA arrived on the scene.

An airworthiness inspector from the FAA was at airport on unrelated business when he noticed the emergency vehicles around the Miami Air Boeing 727. He said he asked an airport authority officer what had happened and was told that the aft bag pit door came open in-flight. He said he then proceeded directly to the airplane. He met the captain as he came down the aft stairs, and, after the passengers had deplaned, asked that the captain return to the cockpit with the other crewmembers. The inspector questioned each crewmember specifically about the events that took place. One of the questions he asked was whether anybody had seen the aft bag pit door light illuminated on the anunciator panel, which is located on the lower right corner of the flight engineer's panel. Their answer was "no." He asked the first officer if he noticed any engine instrument fluctuations when the loud bangs occurred and his answer was "no."

Additionally, at the FAA's insistence, maintenance personnel performed an after-incident bag count and they off-loaded a total of 208 bags.

The captain filled out a Miami Air International report of irregularity concerning the flight. In the narrative he said that the R2 flight attendant came on the interphone and said the "cargo door was open." He said he looked at the engineer's panel and did not see a door light. He said he then heard a substantial bang, and felt a shudder through the airframe and he realized they had a serious problem. He stated he declared an emergency, dumped fuel, and landed on runway 26R at Phoenix.

Crew interviews

The captain was interviewed on January 6th, 1999, in Miami, Florida. He stated that the trip segment began on January 2nd and the airplane had been flown to Sarasota, then diverted to Columbus, Ohio. On January 3rd, the airplane was flown to Green Bay, Wisconsin, and then positioned to Phoenix. On the day of the incident, the captain said he was "running late" and mentioned an error on the dispatch release, which required certification. He signed the dispatch release about 40 minutes before the flight departed. He mentioned that the airplane was positioned on the north side of the airfield at the Ragsdale ramp and it was required to be repositioned to the south side of the airfield.

The captain stated that the flight engineer (FE) was "hustling" due to the unexpected repositioning of the airplane. He said they repositioned the airplane and before the FE did his final walk around, he advised the FE to check the cargo nets. He said he assumed everything was OK, because when the FE returned to the cockpit, there were no cargo door lights illuminated on the annunciator panel, only the APU light was on. He stated that the scheduled departure time was 0800, with the load manifest indicating that there were 172 passengers, with 168 passengers already at the aircraft.

The captain indicated that two additional passengers finally arrived and the ground handlers had given him a bag count of 202 before the late passengers arrived.