Clive Davidson, on a flight from Henlow in Bedfordshire, to Yorkshire, had
a door come open in flight; the it left the aircraft without permission.
The flight continued safely. It was suspected that the latch may not have
been properly secured, or that indavertent interference with the opening
lever was responsible. Europa Aviation subsequently, and quickly,
modified the design to make a recurrence unlikely.
I flew with him today and forgot to ask him about it. I'll get more info
next week.
Dave Simpson
----
------
> From: Fillinger@aol.com
> Subject: Re: Door Annunciator ??
> Date: 20 September 1998 02:55
>
>
> Bob --
>
> I'm sure I read somewhere where an unengaged shoot bolt caused a canopy
> door to deaprt the plane completely. The much smaller, flatter window,
on
> the
> slower Cessna 150 I don't think is comparable (it's also located in the
> disturbed
> airstream of the wing/fuselage junction). I don't even play an
aerodynamicist
> on TV, but I would guess that the shape of the Europa fuselage results in
a
> much greater negative pressure outside (and above) the doors, relative to
the
> cabin interior.
>
> Regards,
> Fred Fillinger, A063
>
>
> << Is the danger of an unlatched canopy that great? Long ago I flew fire
> patrol in << a tired old 150 whose right window popped open
unexpectedly.
> The only
> << damage was to my nervous system.
>
> Bob Williams >>
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