NOSE BAGGAGE COMPARTMENT OPENS ON TKOF. ABORT AND NOTIFY TWR. SECURITY FINDS BAGGAGE AND RETURNS IT.
Synopsis
NOSE BAGGAGE COMPARTMENT OPENS ON TKOF. ABORT AND NOTIFY TWR. SECURITY FINDS BAGGAGE AND RETURNS IT.
Narrative
DEPARTING SAT FOR AUSTIN; TSTMS IN THE AREA AND 1 ON THE FIELD. STRONG WINDS AND HVY RAIN DURING THE TKOF. AFTER LIFTOFF I LEFT THE LNDG GEAR DOWN AND ACCELERATED TO A HIGHER THAN NORMAL AIRSPD BECAUSE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF WINDSHEARS; AS I REACHED ABOUT 50 FT IN THE CLB THE NOSE COMPARTMENT UNLATCHED AND FLEW OPEN AND I NOTICED A BAG FLEW OUT. I IMMEDIATELY CHKED THAT MY LNDG GEAR WAS STILL DOWN AND LOCKED AND I HAD SUFFICIENT RWY TO LAND ON. SO I CLOSED THE THROTTLES AND LANDED. I DID NOT WANT TO ENTER IMC CONDITIONS IN THAT SITUATION NOT KNOWING THE FLT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AIRPLANE WITH THE BAGGAGE COMPARTMENT OPEN. I NOTIFIED THE TWR AND ARPT SECURITY FOUND THE BAG ON THE RWY AND RETURNED IT TO ME. I RELOADED THE BAG AGAIN CHKED THE NOSE COMPARTMENT AND DEPARTED WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS. THE ACFT IS A SMT AND THE NOSE COMPARTMENT LATCH HOOKS ARE NOT THE BEST IN THE WORLD. I BELIEVE THE WIND GUST FLEXED THE COVER ENOUGH TO POP 1 LATCH LOOSE WHICH ALLOWED THE WIND TO GET UNDERNEATH THE DOOR POPPING THE SECOND LATCH FREE BLOWING THE DOOR WIDE OPEN. PLEASE CALL IF I CAN HELP IN ANY WAY. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATES THE LATCHES ON THIS PARTICULAR ACFT ARE WORN AND BENT; ARPTS ARE NOT ALIGNED PROPERLY. CONSEQUENTLY; THE LATCH DOES NOT HOLD SECURELY. HAS NOT FLOWN THIS ACFT SINCE INCIDENT SO DOES NOT KNOW IF IT HAS BEEN REPAIRED. NO FAA FOLLOW UP. DOES NOT FEEL IT IS A PROBLEM ON OTHER SAME TYPE ACFT.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.