BE9 main cabin door failed at 16;000 ft; resulting in depressurization. Balance cables were torn fro...

Narrative:

During cruise flight at 16;000 ft; the main cabin door opened abruptly resulting in a rapid depressurization. At no time prior to the door opening was the cabin door warning light illuminated. At no point prior to the door opening were there pressurization problems. I advised ATC; initiated an emergency descent and proceeded to the nearest suitable airport. An emergency was declared. A passenger advised me that the door was hanging by its hinges and the cables had broken free of the aircraft and were trailing behind the door. I was concerned that the hanging door would interfere with the landing. I requested fire and ambulances to be standing by. I held for 20 minutes until the emergency vehicles were in position before landing the aircraft. The landing was uneventful. There were no injuries. The incident has been reported to the FSDO. I closed the door prior to departure myself and checked all 5 viewing parts to ensure that the door was closed and locked.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: BE9 main cabin door failed at 16;000 FT; resulting in depressurization. Balance cables were torn from the aircraft and reporter declared an emergency and diverted to the nearest suitable airport.

Narrative: During cruise flight at 16;000 FT; the main cabin door opened abruptly resulting in a rapid depressurization. At no time prior to the door opening was the cabin door warning light illuminated. At no point prior to the door opening were there pressurization problems. I advised ATC; initiated an emergency descent and proceeded to the nearest suitable airport. An emergency was declared. A passenger advised me that the door was hanging by its hinges and the cables had broken free of the aircraft and were trailing behind the door. I was concerned that the hanging door would interfere with the landing. I requested fire and ambulances to be standing by. I held for 20 minutes until the emergency vehicles were in position before landing the aircraft. The landing was uneventful. There were no injuries. The incident has been reported to the FSDO. I closed the door prior to departure myself and checked all 5 viewing parts to ensure that the door was closed and locked.

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.

Attributes
ACN	898001
Time
Date	201007
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	King Air C90 E90
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Cruise
Component
Aircraft Component	Exterior Pax/Crew Door
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 60 Flight Crew Total 18000 Flight Crew Type 301
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

BE9 main cabin door failed at 16;000 ft; resulting in depressurization. Balance cables were torn from the aircraft and reporter declared an emergency and diverted to the nearest suitable airport.