Narrative:

I was scheduled for the evening flight with three stops before returning to my base. The weather was beautiful; cold and clear at departure. My route weather was variable with some places reporting clear; others with haze; but all VFR. As I left the ATIS reported fog forming over the town. I flew to my first two destinations with no problem. There were scattered showers of snow; or blowing snow as the wind was from the north at plus 10. Approaching the second airport another company's pilot reported to me the runway lights at my third destination were OTS. We'd experienced some problems with the lights too. I decided to cancel that leg. Upon unloading I noticed the weather seemed to be closing with some snow blowing around. I could see at least ten miles from the ramp and could see the sun setting below the horizon. I notified my passengers I'd not take them to the next planned stop. Some argued with me about landing there; saying they'd called their friends and they would light the runway with snow machine lights. I refused to bend to the pressure and explained we'd be returning to home base. I was not that happy in my discussions with the passengers; feeling they were trying to induce me into a making a poor decision. I secured the aircraft and followed my normal flow; checking all doors; and then departed. Upon climbout I got a door warning lamp. I elected to continue climbing to get away from the terrain. The door remained closed. I climbed to 2;600 ft then the door opened allowing cold air into the cabin. I'd been following the procedures for open doors by flying slowly and lowering the flaps. Some people screamed. I explained to a young man who appeared competent to please tell the people not to fear. We could fly just fine with the door open. Looking down I could see weather between my aircraft and the airport I just departed and I did not like the idea of flying into the airport lacking a VASI. Another nearby airport was obscured in showers too so I elected to fly to my home base where there was a good ILS if needed. I felt some urgency because of the fog that had been forming and felt factors were stacking up against me. My main concern was focusing properly on flying and clearing any terrain. I climbed and remained VFR. Once at a level safe altitude; I briefed the competent passenger about the door and asked if he would be willing to secure it. I explained there was no danger of falling out that the he needed to ensure he was securely holding a seat while we flew straight and level. He just had to grasp the lanyard; close the door and latch it; just as the preflight briefing explained. He succeeded in securing the door. We returned to our originating state without incident at normal speed now. The weather was clear and good VFR. I wrote the cargo door handle up as it seemed loose. This morning the lead mechanic explained the door handle was worn beyond limits. It is supposed to support ten pounds of pressure and opened with only a few ounces pressure. He'd had to look up the specification because it is not the sort of thing routinely checked by maintenance. I suggest the ten pound test should be added as routine maintenance. This aircraft is one of the oldest with over 14;000 hours and many; many door openings. It is likely other aircraft latches need to be replaced too. This was serious enough the aircraft is now grounded. I felt that securing the door in-flight by a competent and willing passenger was the best course of action; though unconventional. I had elders on board the aircraft and they were cold and scared. I did not want to fly into mountainous airports in lowering weather for a non-life threatening incident. Securing the inside latch is not mandatory; but should be; most of the time I do secure this latch. This would help prevent the door from opening too; provided the entire assembly is within service limits.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A C208 cargo door with a badly worn latch opened at 2;600 FT climbing in very cold weather; but a passenger was able to close and secure the door.

Narrative: I was scheduled for the evening flight with three stops before returning to my base. The weather was beautiful; cold and clear at departure. My route weather was variable with some places reporting clear; others with haze; but all VFR. As I left the ATIS reported fog forming over the town. I flew to my first two destinations with no problem. There were scattered showers of snow; or blowing snow as the wind was from the north at plus 10. Approaching the second airport another company's pilot reported to me the runway lights at my third destination were OTS. We'd experienced some problems with the lights too. I decided to cancel that leg. Upon unloading I noticed the weather seemed to be closing with some snow blowing around. I could see at least ten miles from the ramp and could see the sun setting below the horizon. I notified my passengers I'd not take them to the next planned stop. Some argued with me about landing there; saying they'd called their friends and they would light the runway with snow machine lights. I refused to bend to the pressure and explained we'd be returning to home base. I was not that happy in my discussions with the passengers; feeling they were trying to induce me into a making a poor decision. I secured the aircraft and followed my normal flow; checking all doors; and then departed. Upon climbout I got a door warning lamp. I elected to continue climbing to get away from the terrain. The door remained closed. I climbed to 2;600 FT then the door opened allowing cold air into the cabin. I'd been following the procedures for open doors by flying slowly and lowering the flaps. Some people screamed. I explained to a young man who appeared competent to please tell the people not to fear. We could fly just fine with the door open. Looking down I could see weather between my aircraft and the airport I just departed and I did not like the idea of flying into the airport lacking a VASI. Another nearby airport was obscured in showers too so I elected to fly to my home base where there was a good ILS if needed. I felt some urgency because of the fog that had been forming and felt factors were stacking up against me. My main concern was focusing properly on flying and clearing any terrain. I climbed and remained VFR. Once at a level safe altitude; I briefed the competent passenger about the door and asked if he would be willing to secure it. I explained there was no danger of falling out that the he needed to ensure he was securely holding a seat while we flew straight and level. He just had to grasp the lanyard; close the door and latch it; just as the preflight briefing explained. He succeeded in securing the door. We returned to our originating state without incident at normal speed now. The weather was clear and good VFR. I wrote the cargo door handle up as it seemed loose. This morning the Lead Mechanic explained the door handle was worn beyond limits. It is supposed to support ten pounds of pressure and opened with only a few ounces pressure. He'd had to look up the specification because it is not the sort of thing routinely checked by Maintenance. I suggest the ten pound test should be added as routine maintenance. This aircraft is one of the oldest with over 14;000 hours and many; many door openings. It is likely other aircraft latches need to be replaced too. This was serious enough the aircraft is now grounded. I felt that securing the door in-flight by a competent and willing passenger was the best course of action; though unconventional. I had elders on board the aircraft and they were cold and scared. I did not want to fly into mountainous airports in lowering weather for a non-life threatening incident. Securing the inside latch is not mandatory; but should be; most of the time I do secure this latch. This would help prevent the door from opening too; provided the entire assembly is within service limits.

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.