Undetermined · NTSB CHI08LA272
SOCATA TB-20 Trinidad — Cassville, WI
| Date | September 3, 2008 |
| Location | Cassville, WI |
| Aircraft | SOCATA TB-20 Trinidad |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Unknown Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power) |
| Pilot age | 20 |
| Pilot total time | 329 hrs · Low time |
| Time in type | 53 hrs |
| Fatalities | 1, 1 serious |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft structures-Doors-Passenger/crew doors-Not specified - C
- Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Task monitoring/vigilance-Pilot - F
- Organizational issues-Support/oversight/monitoring-Documentation/record keeping-Maintenance records-Operator
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained - C
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
What happened
Two pilots, who were enrolled in an aviation training program, preflighted the airplane for a flight that was to pick up a friend at the destination airport. After departure, the right cabin door opened for reportedly unknown reasons, and was then held closed by the right seat pilot. The left seat pilot diverted to a nearby airport. During the approach the left seat pilot elected to perform a go-around because the approach "didn't look good." During the go-around, the door reopened, and the airplane rolled to the right and impacted the ground. The right seat pilot was fatally injuried. The airplane was equipped with gull wing type doors, which do not open against the direction of the relative airflow. The in-flight opening of a cabin door is not listed as an emergency in the Pilot's Information Manual and flight with a door open was not tested by the airplane manufacturer. Furthermore, flight is prohibited with a door being open or ajar. The airplane was consumed by fire and only portions of the door assemblies were recovered.