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A C421 cargo door opened on takeoff so the pilot attempted a straight ahead landing. Upon hearing a scraping sound; the pilot went around. After landing found propeller and fuselage damage from runway contact.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 991454 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201201 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | IMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Golden Eagle 421 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Initial Climb |
| Route In Use | Vectors |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Cargo Door |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100 Flight Crew Total 17000 Flight Crew Type 140 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Ground Event / Encounter Ground Strike - Aircraft |
Narrative:
IFR conditions on takeoff; 500 ft overcast; 1 mile visibility. After rotation and gear retraction the forward right cargo door popped open. The aircraft yawed right and began to slow. I elected to land straight ahead. I reduced power; lowered the nose selected gear down and flared. In the flare I heard two points of contact. Immediately pulled the nose up and applied power. I flew it around at low altitude to maintain VFR. I also left the gear in the down position. The landing was uneventful. After taxi in and shutdown I discovered that both props had the tips curled. There was evidence of light scrapping on both inboard gear doors. Thoughts: I prepare for normal abnormals by attending a recurrent simulator training specific to my airplane. On takeoff I am expecting an engine failure and have practice it many times. I would have continued with an engine failure; but elected to land with the cargo door! Prior to this event a friend told me a story about the same situation happening to him many years ago in a 421. Same door pops open on a clear day and he flew it around for landing. He claimed the aircraft was very difficult to control. I believe this story had an influence on my choice that day! The choice was take a potentially difficult to control airplane into the clouds or land straight ahead.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A C421 cargo door opened on takeoff so the pilot attempted a straight ahead landing. Upon hearing a scraping sound; the pilot went around. After landing found propeller and fuselage damage from runway contact.
Narrative: IFR conditions on takeoff; 500 FT overcast; 1 mile visibility. After rotation and gear retraction the forward right cargo door popped open. The aircraft yawed right and began to slow. I elected to land straight ahead. I reduced power; lowered the nose selected gear down and flared. In the flare I heard two points of contact. Immediately pulled the nose up and applied power. I flew it around at low altitude to maintain VFR. I also left the gear in the down position. The landing was uneventful. After taxi in and shutdown I discovered that both props had the tips curled. There was evidence of light scrapping on both inboard gear doors. Thoughts: I prepare for normal abnormals by attending a recurrent simulator training specific to my airplane. On takeoff I am expecting an engine failure and have practice it many times. I would have continued with an engine failure; but elected to land with the cargo door! Prior to this event a friend told me a story about the same situation happening to him many years ago in a 421. Same door pops open on a clear day and he flew it around for landing. He claimed the aircraft was very difficult to control. I believe this story had an influence on my choice that day! The choice was take a potentially difficult to control airplane into the clouds or land straight ahead.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 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.