What happened
On 22 April 2010, a DHC-8-402 Dash 8, registration G-JEDN, was performing a commercial passenger flight from Southampton Airport. During the takeoff roll, a panel was thrown upwards from the aircraft, as witnessed by a pilot in a nearby parked aircraft. Air Traffic Control (ATC) notified the flight crew that debris and a panel had been found on the airfield. Following this notification, the commander decided to return to the airport, and the aircraft landed safely.
There were no fatalities and no injuries among the 40 passengers or 4 crew members on board. The incident resulted in damage to the right wing leading edge.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the No 2 engine inboard forward access door. The door was recovered by ground staff in a grass area near the runway. Upon inspection, the two centre latches were found closed and locked, but the two lower latches were fully open. The investigation found that grass and dirt were embedded within the lever mechanism, which indicated the latches had been in the open position when the door struck the ground.
Examination of the latch pin receivers in the nacelle showed no signs of the pins being forced out of their locked positions. All four quick-release positive-lock pin latches were found to be serviceable and showed no evidence of being engaged immediately before the door became detached.
Findings
- The aircraft had undergone a Daily Check and unscheduled maintenance the previous night, which included opening the No 1 engine outboard and No 2 engine inboard access doors to check oil levels.
- The commander performed a pre-flight walk-around in the early morning light and reported checking that all engine panels were secure.
- The No 2 engine inboard forward access door had not been fully latched following the maintenance work.
Safety action
Following the incident, the operator initiated a safety campaign aimed at aircrew, engineering, and ground personnel to emphasize the necessity of properly securing and verifying the closure of engine access doors across the entire fleet.