Cessna Aircraft Undifferentiated or Other Model
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 15; Flight Crew Total 4000; Flight Crew Type 36
Human-Machine Interface
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe
Aircraft Aircraft Damaged; Flight Crew Diverted; Flight Crew Landed As Precaution; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft; Human Factors
I performed twelve touch and go landings at several airports before arriving at ZZZ1 where I stopped for a short break. After the break; checklist items prior to startup taxi and takeoff were abbreviated in that the mag check and carb heat check were deleted due to the fact that these had been performed earlier prior to departure. The ZZZ ATIS was as follows: the wind was from 190 degrees 12 KTS and the visibility was 10 miles with a few clouds at 8;000 FT. The temperature at ZZZ was -9 C and the dew point was -15 C. During the takeoff roll; and as with some of the other touch and goes; some 'bumps' were encountered. The climbout was uneventful until I reached an approximate altitude of 1;800 FT MSL. At that point and while about a mile south from the airport; I heard a loud 'bang' and heard and felt the rush of wind. Papers from back of the airplane landed on my lap. I took note that the pilot side door was fully open to the horizontal position and that the plunger or hydraulic strut attached to it was tilted aft. The Plexiglas window in the pilot side door was shattered. As the ZZZ Airport; which was my destination; was ten miles away; and the ZZZ1 Airport was but a mile or two away; I opted to return to the ZZZ1 Airport. At that time; there was one other airplane in the ZZZ1 traffic pattern. I chose the longest runway for landing. The landing was uneventful. After the landing I taxied back to the departure end of the runway and examined the aircraft. Beyond a bend in the door; a slight paint scuff on the left wing strut; and the shattered pilot side door window; I could discern no damage. The wing; tail section; landing gear; fuselage all appeared intact. During the return to the airport; I noted the aircraft flew normally. I was able to close the door and secured the door with the front door latch. With realization that the aircraft was intact (minus the Plexiglas pilot side window) and that aircraft such as this are regularly flown with doors removed (such as in carrying skydivers); and that the flight would be brief and less than 11 nautical miles; there would only be the discomfort of the cold for which I was suitably dressed with which to contend. As it appeared that the door would need some repair; and as I wanted to have the repair performed at the dealer facility where I purchased the airplane; I elected to depart ZZZ1 Airport to return to the ZZZ Airport for any temporary repair that might be needed; such as replacing the Plexiglas. The flight was uneventful other than the wind noise. Again Approach Control was contacted and I was cleared for a straight-in approach. The landing and taxi back to the hangar were uneventful. Again; the distance between ZZZ1 and ZZZ was less than 11 nautical miles. I contacted the repair facility and advised the receptionist I would be bringing the aircraft in for repair. The next day; an A&P mechanic inspected the aircraft and determined that the Plexiglas could be replaced and that the door could be made secure for flight. After returning to the hangar in ZZZ; I examined the pilot side door of the aircraft. In addition to the broken Plexiglas; the upper forward edge of the door was bent outward; and there was a deep diagonal crease at the lower rear of the door; as if the door had been pried open from the front. To me; this would indicate that the pilot side front door latch was either not closed or was jarred to the open position and that the rear of the door was latched. During the takeoff roll; there were two or three good 'bumps' either due to ice on the runway or unevenness in the runway surface. These jolts might have caused my left knee to accidentally contact the forward door latch and move it to the open position. The door of the Cessna Skycatcher is hinged at the top; and this is often referred to as a gull-wing type door. In my opinion this is the basic source of the door problem with the Cessna Skycatcher. In most general aircraft; the cabin doors are hinged at the front or forward edge. With the door hinged at the front edge; and if the door would open during flight; nothing much would happen; other than that there is a lot of wind noise and perhaps a loss of some paper charts. The door would be held 'in trail' by the slipstream and there would be no damage to the airframe. Instructors with whom I have had flown in the Skycatcher have warned that if the door does open in flight that there will be damage and the Skycatcher Operations Manual does mention of this. Beyond the basic flaw of the 'gull-wing' door design; in the original design; the door of the Skycatcher was latched at the rear by a lever mounted in the top of the door sill at the base of the window. The lever is clearly visible. Because of inadvertent door openings and actual losses; Cessna then added a secondary latch to the front or leading edge of the door. This; in itself; is an admission of the design error in the latching mechanism. Even still; the latching mechanisms are insufficient and flawed in that the interior of the aircraft is black and the knobs on the secondary door latches are also black and sit below knee level. Thus; they are mostly out of sight. The open and closed positions can only be really verified by moving the door latch handles. The aircraft involved is a late serial number 2013 Skycatcher and is equipped with forward and aft door latches. It is my understanding that what happened here is not uncommon for the Skycatcher; whether equipped with either single or dual door latches. In the prevention of such further incidents; and beyond the diligent attention to checklist items; I would suggest as follows: 1) Cessna should replace the black knobs on the secondary forward latch handles with a white or preferably 'luminous' white knobs so that they would be more visible in day or night conditions. 2) Even better and in addition to the above; there should be LED indicator lights - both red and green to be placed on the left and right of the instrument panel for both pilot and co-pilot doors. The red would indicate that the forward latch is not closed and the green would indicate that the forward door latch is in the closed position. 3) Perhaps beyond practicality and certainly more fail-safe would be an interlock between the forward door latch and magneto switch; such that the ignition could not be activated without the forward door latch being in the closed position.
The reporter cannot be absolutely positive that the forward latch was engaged prior to takeoff on the incident flight or if it was bumped during the takeoff due to the rough runway. Either way the latching handle should be made more visible by installing a contrasting knob.
Cessna 162 Skycatcher pilot describes the circumstances leading up to a door coming open in flight; causing significant damage to the door.