What happened
On Friday, 9 April 2010, a Beechcraft 1900D, registration ZK-EAQ, departed from Auckland International Airport. Shortly after the aircraft became airborne, the rear cargo door swung open. The flight crew responded by returning the aircraft to the airport, where they performed a safe landing. There were no injuries reported, and the aircraft sustained only minor damage.
The investigation
Investigators determined that the aircraft was operating under a specific permit that allowed for an inoperative warning system, provided that the crew manually verified the cargo door was closed and locked before every flight. While a ground loader had closed the door prior to departure, they failed to rotate the handle fully into the locked position.
During the final pre-flight inspections, the first officer was distracted and failed to perform a positive verification of the door's status. Furthermore, the captain and first officer did not sufficiently confirm that the visual check of the door had actually been completed. As the aircraft moved through the taxi phase, vibrations caused the improperly secured handle to loosen, eventually allowing the door to open during the takeoff roll.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was the failure to fully rotate the cargo door handle into the locked position.
- A lack of effective crew verification regarding the door's security contributed to the event.
- Distractions during the pre-flight inspection prevented the first officer from identifying the unlocked door.
- The vibration experienced during taxi allowed the unlatched door to move into an open position.