LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — FOX5 is tracking another incident of a plane door falling off after takeoff from the North Las Vegas Airport, and there are some striking similarities to a similar incident in 2024.
On June 3 around 11 a.m., a pilot alerts Air Traffic Control of trouble after takeoff.
FOX5 exclusively obtained Air Traffic Control audio of the incident:
Pilot: “The whole door broke off, or part of it.”
ATC: “Which part?”
Pilot: “The whole door broke off.”
ATC: “Confirm one more time for me, what kind of door is it?”
Pilot: We only have one door on the airplane, it’s the back door.”
ATC cleared the plane to land; FlightAware says the entire flight lasted six minutes.
Other ATC audio describes crew members locating and recovering the door.
FOX5 learned that the plane was a Diamond Aircraft DA 42. The FAA tells FOX5 they are investigating. FOX5 has asked the FAA for updates.
FOX5 covered a similar incident in 2024 at the North Las Vegas Airport, and there are similarities: the planes have the same manufacturer, the same out-of-state owner, and the same on-site manager at the North Las Vegas Airport.
This time, FOX5 reached the plane owner, who is based out-of-state; he tells FOX5 that he leases the plane out to someone in North Las Vegas, and that manager is primarily responsible for on-site maintenance. The owner told FOX5 that he would look into our inquiry further.
The next day, FOX5 reached out to the manager at North Las Vegas. In a text, the manager said, “The ADs [Airworthiness Directives] and Manufacturers Service Bulletins (MSBs) were complied with correctly. Additionally, both incidents were investigated with the FAA…” the text read.
FOX5 previously reached out to that manager after the March 2024 incident when a “single-engine Diamond DA40” took off—and also lost its door, with a student pilot and supervisor inside.
FOX5 learned, on January 8, the FAA issued an “Airworthiness Directive” and mandate on the DA 42, “prompted by several reports of passenger door separation”: it calls on pilots to repeatedly inspect the door, modify the plane and change operating procedures.
On May 13, the FAA notified pilots of a “proposed rule” on the DA 40, also after “several” reports of doors falling off.
For weeks, FOX5 emailed and called Diamond Aircraft numerous times at their offices in Canada and Austria; finally, FOX5 spoke to someone by phone in the Canadian sales office. The person said they were aware of the DA42 incident we were inquiring about and had “no comment” for us.
Aviation attorney Jeff Lustick explains why these “Diamonds” are popular: student pilots fly the planes often, out of the North Las Vegas Airport.
“Diamond Aircraft is one of the best-selling training aircraft in North America and in Europe. It’s a fiberglass airplane. It is fuel efficient. The flight characteristics are just perfect for teaching people how to fly at all levels,” Lustick said.
“Hopefully, we’ll stop seeing this happen in Diamond Aircraft, but this is exactly how the system is supposed to work: the FAA conducts technical analysis. They keep reports. And they look at mechanical trends. They look at mechanical failures, and then they come up with plans to make these airplanes safer,” Lustick said. “This isn’t the only aircraft in the general aviation fleet in the world that has this problem,” he said.
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