History of the Flight
The pilot, who had purchased G-FLOR seven days earlier, was conducting a local private flight from Cotswold Airport with a passenger. After completing external checks, both occupants seated themselves and closed the gull-wing cockpit doors. The pilot verified the front latching of both doors by pushing on them, then leaned to check the rear of the right door and noted slight outward movement. He reopened and reclosed the right door, confirming it latched correctly. He then asked the passenger to check the left door rear latch, but the passenger could not reach, so the pilot pushed on the door near his left shoulder. He did not feel or see any movement or gap. Before takeoff, he rechecked the doors and they appeared secure.
Takeoff and climb to 2,500 ft amsl were normal. At about 100 kt, 5 nm southeast of Cotswold Airport, the left door detached without warning. The pilot maintained control, checked for normal control responses, and returned to Cotswold for an uneventful landing.
Aircraft Examination
The left tailplane sustained minor damage to its leading edge and upper surface, consistent with being struck by the door. The door was not recovered. Examination of the remaining left door forward hinge and both right door hinges showed that the AN970-3 washers were not fitted. The forward hinge leaf remained attached, but its knuckles had failed due to overload. The rear hinge was missing, with damage consistent with being pulled from the fuselage. There was superficial paint damage adjacent to both left door shoot bolt guides, indicative of the tapered shoot bolt contacting the fuselage skin or door frame. Possible causes included the shoot bolt not engaging its guide when closed, or the door being closed with the locking lever already in the closed position.
Previous Events and Safety Action
Since 2003, there have been eight UK occurrences involving inadvertent opening of Europa cockpit doors. Previous investigations (e.g., G-BYJI in 2012, G-FIZY in 2014) concluded that the rear shoot bolt had not been engaged before takeoff. Following the G-FIZY event, the Light Aircraft Association (LAA) worked with the manufacturer to design a modification that prevents the door latch lever from reaching the closed position when the door is not properly latched.