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The pilot of a PA-60 was unaware that the avionics access door had departed the aircraft during the takeoff roll.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 912241 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201009 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | PA-60 600 Aerostar |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Takeoff |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Service/Access Door |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Commercial |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 43 Flight Crew Total 13200 Flight Crew Type 3500 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe |
Narrative:
The flight was uneventful and I was unaware that the forward avionics compartment access panel had departed the airplane on takeoff. On arrival at my destination; I was to learn that the panel was found on the airport near the departure end of my takeoff runway. This location would be at the beginning of the take off roll.no loud noises or vibrations occurred to attract my attention. I did not experience a communication problem due to increased noise level and I did not increase the receiver volume. The airplane takeoff and climb performance was as expected for the wind and temperature (97 degrees F) at takeoff. The cruise performance at 16;000 was as expected.the access panel is attached to the airplane with dzus fasteners. The dzus receptacles on the airplane are undamaged; indicating that the panel was not properly fastened. Minor damage occurred to the left propeller anti icing boots and to one blade. It is obvious that I failed to conduct an adequate walk-around preflight. Normally this panel is the first object to be checked by observing the row of fasteners around the periphery of the panel. I did not check this item. It is not a line item in the check list as are fuel filler caps. It will be added. A detailed read-aloud check list is always used for every flight; so having this item on the check list should eliminate the occurrence for future flights.while I was well rested; the departure had been delayed several hours. Also; I believe that the high ambient temperatures contributed to my fatigue and failure to conduct an adequate preflight.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: The pilot of a PA-60 was unaware that the avionics access door had departed the aircraft during the takeoff roll.
Narrative: The flight was uneventful and I was unaware that the forward avionics compartment access panel had departed the airplane on takeoff. On arrival at my destination; I was to learn that the panel was found on the airport near the departure end of my takeoff runway. This location would be at the beginning of the take off roll.No loud noises or vibrations occurred to attract my attention. I did not experience a communication problem due to increased noise level and I did not increase the receiver volume. The airplane takeoff and climb performance was as expected for the wind and temperature (97 degrees F) at takeoff. The cruise performance at 16;000 was as expected.The access panel is attached to the airplane with DZUS fasteners. The DZUS receptacles on the airplane are undamaged; indicating that the panel was not properly fastened. Minor damage occurred to the left propeller anti icing boots and to one blade. It is obvious that I failed to conduct an adequate walk-around preflight. Normally this panel is the first object to be checked by observing the row of fasteners around the periphery of the panel. I did not check this item. It is not a line item in the check list as are fuel filler caps. It will be added. A detailed read-aloud check list is always used for every flight; so having this item on the check list should eliminate the occurrence for future flights.While I was well rested; the departure had been delayed several hours. Also; I believe that the high ambient temperatures contributed to my fatigue and failure to conduct an adequate preflight.
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.