LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Audio from Air Traffic Control out of the North Las Vegas Airport documents a pilot alerting operators of a plane door falling from the sky.
FOX5 exclusively told you about the March incident out of the North Las Vegas Airport involving a Diamond DA 40, where a left rear passenger door fell to the ground shortly after takeoff.
The plane is managed by a company based out of the North Las Vegas Airport. According to a source with internal knowledge, the door was found south of the airport in a dirt lot near the Walmart. The source also said that the pilot was a student, and there was also an instructor as a passenger in the plane.
FOX5 reached out to the owner of the company. They did not wish to comment.
FOX5 obtained Air Traffic Control audio recordings from the FAA.
“What’s the nature of the issue?” the operator asks, after the pilot alerts the tower.
“Our door popped open– it may have fallen off,” the pilot said.
Aviation attorney and long-time pilot Jeff Lustick walks FOX5 through the recordings.
“All that air is rushing into the cockpit right now. [The pilot] can’t see the door where he’s sitting– it’s too far behind. If the door had fallen further backwards and hit the tail, it could be catastrophic,” Lustick said.
Minutes later, the pilot is able to verify to the tower that the door is missing.
“Our door detached, and it’s not attached to our aircraft,” the pilot said.
The same aircraft model has been under recent scrutiny. As recently as February 13, FOX Business reported a single-engine Diamond DA40 made an emergency landing in Buffalo, also after the left rear passenger door flew off. Crews went to neighborhoods searching for the door.
“That door is pretty hefty, and weighs about 25 pounds. If you drop a 25 pound object from a substantial amount of distance, maybe 1000 feet over the ground, It can land on top of a car. It could have injured or potentially harmed someone,” Lustick said. ”The FAA can exercise its authority to force Diamond Aircraft to issue an ‘Airworthiness Directive,’” Lustick said, which would mandate all aircraft owners to perform repairs before flight.
FOX5 obtained a 2010 manual for owners of the Diamond DA40, which warns against trying to lock an open door, mid-flight– causing the door to drop from the plane. The manual says the plane can be flown safely to the nearest airfield.
Effective January 2011, The FAA also issued a “Airworthiness Directive” mandating repairs to prevent such incidents: “This AD was prompted by several reports of the rear passenger door departing the airplane in flight. We are issuing this AD to change the emergency open doors procedure and retrofit the rear passenger door retaining bracket, which if not corrected could result in the rear passenger door departing the airplane in flight,” the directive reads.
In 2011, Diamond Aircraft issued a “Mandatory Service Bulletin” authorized by the European Union’s aviation authority. “A improved retaining bracket for the door safety hook has been designed to, together with an amended emergency procedure, prevent opening and most likely detaching of the door during flight with an unlatched door,” it reads. Diamond Aircraft has headquarters in Austria, and planes are manufactured in Europe and Ontario, Canada.
FOX5 asked the FAA if they would issue an Airworthiness Directive in light of these incidents.
“The FAA issues Airworthiness Directives (ADs) for U.S.-manufactured aircraft. If an aircraft is manufactured in another country, that country’s regulator would issue an AD and the FAA would then issue a similar AD. So you would need to contact the regulator from the country that certified the aircraft, in this case Canada,” a spokesperson emailed to FOX5.
According to European aviation authorities, Canada has been the regular for the Diamond DA 40 since 2017.
FOX5 has also reached out to the Canadian aviation authorities for more information. An official said they are working on a response.
According to the FAA, regulators in Canada will research whether the problem is a maintenance issue or is actually an issue with the manufacturer. No directives are issued if maintenance is the problem.
FOX5 has reached out via several emails to Diamond Aircraft also for a response.
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