DA42 pilot reports loss of improperly secured aft cargo door on takeoff roll.

Attributes
ACN	797647
Time
Date	200808
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	airport : zzz.airport
State Reference	US
Altitude	agl single value : 0
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Operator	general aviation : personal
Make Model Name	DA42 Twin Star
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	ground : takeoff roll
Flight Plan	VFR
Person 1
Affiliation	other
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Qualification	pilot : multi engine pilot : commercial pilot : instrument
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 35 flight time total : 1395 flight time type : 83
ASRS Report	797647
Events
Anomaly	aircraft equipment problem : critical
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	flight crew : rejected takeoff
Consequence	other other
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Aircraft Flight Crew Human Performance
Primary Problem	Ambiguous

Narrative:

Rear (pilot side) baggage door broke away during takeoff roll well before flying speed. Takeoff was promptly aborted. During pre-flight baggage; 1 passenger (front seat) and 1 dog (rear seats) were loaded into the aircraft. The rear baggage door was closed after loading the dog. The audible door alarm was suppressed during preflight since the canopy door was put in the 'cooling' position. Sometime during the taxi or back-taxi; the rear door popped open. It is possible that a blanket for the dog prevented the door from latching properly. Or; the door was simply not fully latched. Or; there was a failure in the latching mechanism. Neither the pilot nor the passenger notice an alarm (audible or otherwise) or the open door during the taxi or run-up. Noise cancellation headsets were in use by the pilot and passenger. During the preflight the aircraft was repositioned twice for traffic. This may have been a contributing factor since it interrupted the orderly flow of the checklist. The door locking mechanism appeared to be fully functional when the door was placed back on the air frame. The door was scratched; some composite material was cracked and the hinges were sheared (per design according to diamond aircraft representative). The door will be replaced by a new door.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: DA42 PLT REPORTS LOSS OF IMPROPERLY SECURED AFT CARGO DOOR ON TKOF ROLL.

Narrative: REAR (PLT SIDE) BAGGAGE DOOR BROKE AWAY DURING TKOF ROLL WELL BEFORE FLYING SPD. TKOF WAS PROMPTLY ABORTED. DURING PRE-FLT BAGGAGE; 1 PAX (FRONT SEAT) AND 1 DOG (REAR SEATS) WERE LOADED INTO THE ACFT. THE REAR BAGGAGE DOOR WAS CLOSED AFTER LOADING THE DOG. THE AUDIBLE DOOR ALARM WAS SUPPRESSED DURING PREFLT SINCE THE CANOPY DOOR WAS PUT IN THE 'COOLING' POS. SOMETIME DURING THE TAXI OR BACK-TAXI; THE REAR DOOR POPPED OPEN. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT A BLANKET FOR THE DOG PREVENTED THE DOOR FROM LATCHING PROPERLY. OR; THE DOOR WAS SIMPLY NOT FULLY LATCHED. OR; THERE WAS A FAILURE IN THE LATCHING MECHANISM. NEITHER THE PLT NOR THE PAX NOTICE AN ALARM (AUDIBLE OR OTHERWISE) OR THE OPEN DOOR DURING THE TAXI OR RUN-UP. NOISE CANCELLATION HEADSETS WERE IN USE BY THE PLT AND PAX. DURING THE PREFLT THE ACFT WAS REPOSITIONED TWICE FOR TFC. THIS MAY HAVE BEEN A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR SINCE IT INTERRUPTED THE ORDERLY FLOW OF THE CHKLIST. THE DOOR LOCKING MECHANISM APPEARED TO BE FULLY FUNCTIONAL WHEN THE DOOR WAS PLACED BACK ON THE AIR FRAME. THE DOOR WAS SCRATCHED; SOME COMPOSITE MATERIAL WAS CRACKED AND THE HINGES WERE SHEARED (PER DESIGN ACCORDING TO DIAMOND ACFT REPRESENTATIVE). THE DOOR WILL BE REPLACED BY A NEW DOOR.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of May 2009 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.