Narrative:

After the sole passenger was boarded and the door was closed; the 'door warn' light was not extinguished. At this point the ramp agent opened and re-closed the main cabin door. The light was still illuminated. I physically checked all the doors that are attached to the 'door warning' light: main cabin door; cargo door; emergency exit hatch and cockpit hatch. After physically checking and confirming each of these doors were closed and secure; I wrote the light up and called maintenance to defer the 'door warning' light. It is important to note that the door warning light had been written up and deferred many times in the recent past. After completion of this deferment in accordance with our company manual; we were ready for engine start. While taxiing out; the copilot and I heard a pop. After stopping the aircraft to inspect more closely what that noise was; I noticed the latch for the emergency exit hatch was not resting in its normal place. This hatch is in arm's reach to me. I turned and pulled on the hatch to verify it had not opened and then pushed the latch back into its place with ease. My training confirmed the door was secure and I felt it safe to continue. During the takeoff roll (the first officer was the pilot flying) the emergency exit hatch failed and came open. This was indicated by a loud pop followed by the sound of air rushing in the cabin. The aircraft was approaching 90 KIAS and was beginning to rotate and was no more than 10 ft AGL. Due to the door being open and feeling the aircraft could be unsafe to continue flight; I elected to abort the takeoff per our fom and QRH. Our landing gear was down and sufficient runway was remaining. We safely came to a stop on the runway and taxied clear and back to the gate. At the gate the passenger was deplaned. I took the appropriate measures per our fom; wrote the door up and filled out paperwork in accordance with our company procedures. That aircraft was taxied to the hangar where it was traded for the spare aircraft.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C402 reports door warning light prior to start after all doors are closed. After checking all doors and hatches and knowing of maintenance history; door warning light is MEL'ed. During takeoff hatch comes open and takeoff is rejected.

Narrative: After the sole passenger was boarded and the door was closed; the 'door warn' light was not extinguished. At this point the ramp agent opened and re-closed the main cabin door. The light was still illuminated. I physically checked all the doors that are attached to the 'Door Warning' light: main cabin door; cargo door; emergency exit hatch and cockpit hatch. After physically checking and confirming each of these doors were closed and secure; I wrote the light up and called Maintenance to defer the 'Door Warning' light. It is important to note that the door warning light had been written up and deferred many times in the recent past. After completion of this deferment in accordance with our company manual; we were ready for engine start. While taxiing out; the Copilot and I heard a pop. After stopping the aircraft to inspect more closely what that noise was; I noticed the latch for the emergency exit hatch was not resting in its normal place. This hatch is in arm's reach to me. I turned and pulled on the hatch to verify it had not opened and then pushed the latch back into its place with ease. My training confirmed the door was secure and I felt it safe to continue. During the takeoff roll (the First Officer was the Pilot Flying) the emergency exit hatch failed and came open. This was indicated by a loud pop followed by the sound of air rushing in the cabin. The aircraft was approaching 90 KIAS and was beginning to rotate and was no more than 10 FT AGL. Due to the door being open and feeling the aircraft could be unsafe to continue flight; I elected to abort the takeoff per our FOM and QRH. Our landing gear was down and sufficient runway was remaining. We safely came to a stop on the runway and taxied clear and back to the gate. At the gate the passenger was deplaned. I took the appropriate measures per our FOM; wrote the door up and filled out paperwork in accordance with our company procedures. That aircraft was taxied to the hangar where it was traded for the spare aircraft.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.