What happened
During the takeoff phase, the crew of the aircraft confirmed that the cargo door was closed and the indicator light was extinguished. However, while climbing at an altitude of approximately 600 feet, the cockpit door opened, and the crew realized the cargo door had become unlatched. In response to this emergency, the captain decided to perform an immediate return to the airport.
During the subsequent landing attempt, the crew experienced difficulties with flight configuration. The captain reported that the co-pilot was slow to respond to requests for extending the flaps and landing gear, which resulted in the aircraft drifting off the runway centerline. As the co-pilot initiated a missed approach procedure, the gear and flaps were partially retracted.
As the aircraft descended toward the runway, the co-pilot attempted to lower the landing gear. While the nose gear successfully deployed before contact with the ground, the main gear remained retracted. The aircraft touched down roughly halfway down the runway and subsequently exited the paved surface. The impact with the terrain and various objects resulted in substantial damage to the airframe. A witness observed that the exterior door latch appeared unsecured while the plane was taxiing to the runway.
Findings
- The primary factor in the excursion was the failure to extend the main landing gear prior to touchdown.
- Operational delays in executing landing configuration changes contributed to the aircraft overshooting the runway centerline.