Narrative:

The captain, 1 passenger and myself were on a maintenance test flight of our king air A90. A few minor squawks had been worked on but primarily we were testing the noise for the cabin door. An earlier flight was extremely noisy, so we had the door seal replaced. (To clarify, the owner thought the seal was noisy and it was, so we had it replaced.) this was the first and only test flight for the door. I took off and climbed up to 14500 ft with the captain in the left seat. Upon reaching 14500 ft and in radar contact with wichita approach, the captain left his seat and went back to see if the door had sealed or if it was loud. From my position, the door seemed much better than it had been. I noticed no annunciator lights 'on' that would show if the door had not been latched. Then I heard a loud pop and was momentarily pushed back in my seat. Immediately I turned around and saw the door was open, so I retarded the power levers. I slowed the aircraft down and was in a descent when I looked back once more to see if the captain was still in the aircraft. On my first look back, I did not see him but this time I did. Upon reaching approximately 13000 ft the captain was able to come back to the cockpit and he took control of the aircraft, he declared an emergency with wichita approach and we landed at mid-continent without much problem. My role in the incident was I was flying. I had no part of closing the door. I think it was a maintenance problem and am very happy the captain had a seat belt on in the back. The passenger was ok. Supplemental information from acn 320204: I left the cockpit to go to the cabin to monitor possible air leaks. While feeling around on the door, the door explosively opened while at 14500 MSL, which was at maximum differential on the pressurization. The FAA is looking at the door to try to determine what caused it to open in flight. I feel that the door has a problem and that it is possibly bowing out in flight. I also feel that I should not have touched the door during flight. I am not sure that I was a contributing factor to the door coming open, but I feel that if I was then it could have opened in flight if a passenger was not seated and moving about in the cabin, they could have done the same thing by losing their balance and putting their hand on the door to catch themselves. 13000 hours total time on airframe.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: BE90 DOOR OPENED DURING FLT TEST AT MAX DIFFERENTIAL CABIN ALT. ACFT NOISE. FLT TEST ACTIVITY.

Narrative: THE CAPT, 1 PAX AND MYSELF WERE ON A MAINT TEST FLT OF OUR KING AIR A90. A FEW MINOR SQUAWKS HAD BEEN WORKED ON BUT PRIMARILY WE WERE TESTING THE NOISE FOR THE CABIN DOOR. AN EARLIER FLT WAS EXTREMELY NOISY, SO WE HAD THE DOOR SEAL REPLACED. (TO CLARIFY, THE OWNER THOUGHT THE SEAL WAS NOISY AND IT WAS, SO WE HAD IT REPLACED.) THIS WAS THE FIRST AND ONLY TEST FLT FOR THE DOOR. I TOOK OFF AND CLBED UP TO 14500 FT WITH THE CAPT IN THE L SEAT. UPON REACHING 14500 FT AND IN RADAR CONTACT WITH WICHITA APCH, THE CAPT LEFT HIS SEAT AND WENT BACK TO SEE IF THE DOOR HAD SEALED OR IF IT WAS LOUD. FROM MY POS, THE DOOR SEEMED MUCH BETTER THAN IT HAD BEEN. I NOTICED NO ANNUNCIATOR LIGHTS 'ON' THAT WOULD SHOW IF THE DOOR HAD NOT BEEN LATCHED. THEN I HEARD A LOUD POP AND WAS MOMENTARILY PUSHED BACK IN MY SEAT. IMMEDIATELY I TURNED AROUND AND SAW THE DOOR WAS OPEN, SO I RETARDED THE PWR LEVERS. I SLOWED THE ACFT DOWN AND WAS IN A DSCNT WHEN I LOOKED BACK ONCE MORE TO SEE IF THE CAPT WAS STILL IN THE ACFT. ON MY FIRST LOOK BACK, I DID NOT SEE HIM BUT THIS TIME I DID. UPON REACHING APPROX 13000 FT THE CAPT WAS ABLE TO COME BACK TO THE COCKPIT AND HE TOOK CTL OF THE ACFT, HE DECLARED AN EMER WITH WICHITA APCH AND WE LANDED AT MID-CONTINENT WITHOUT MUCH PROB. MY ROLE IN THE INCIDENT WAS I WAS FLYING. I HAD NO PART OF CLOSING THE DOOR. I THINK IT WAS A MAINT PROB AND AM VERY HAPPY THE CAPT HAD A SEAT BELT ON IN THE BACK. THE PAX WAS OK. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 320204: I LEFT THE COCKPIT TO GO TO THE CABIN TO MONITOR POSSIBLE AIR LEAKS. WHILE FEELING AROUND ON THE DOOR, THE DOOR EXPLOSIVELY OPENED WHILE AT 14500 MSL, WHICH WAS AT MAX DIFFERENTIAL ON THE PRESSURIZATION. THE FAA IS LOOKING AT THE DOOR TO TRY TO DETERMINE WHAT CAUSED IT TO OPEN IN FLT. I FEEL THAT THE DOOR HAS A PROB AND THAT IT IS POSSIBLY BOWING OUT IN FLT. I ALSO FEEL THAT I SHOULD NOT HAVE TOUCHED THE DOOR DURING FLT. I AM NOT SURE THAT I WAS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO THE DOOR COMING OPEN, BUT I FEEL THAT IF I WAS THEN IT COULD HAVE OPENED IN FLT IF A PAX WAS NOT SEATED AND MOVING ABOUT IN THE CABIN, THEY COULD HAVE DONE THE SAME THING BY LOSING THEIR BALANCE AND PUTTING THEIR HAND ON THE DOOR TO CATCH THEMSELVES. 13000 HRS TOTAL TIME ON AIRFRAME.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.