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ANC90LA062

1990-04-16 · DEADHORSE, Alaska, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport PASL

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

INADEQUATE MAINTENANCE AND INSPECTION OF THE NOSE BAGGAGE DOOR.

Factual narrative

DURING THE INITIAL CLIMB THE NOSE BAGGAGE DOOR OPENED, AND AN ENGINE COVER SEPARATED AND STRUCK THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER. THE BAGGAGE DOOR HANDLE LATCHING MECHANISM SPRING THAT EXERTS PRESSURE TO CLOSE THE HANDLE WAS FOUND MISSING. THE OPERATOR HAD ALSO MODIFIED THE LATCHING MECHANISM TO INCLUDE A NON-APPROVED SAFETY DEVICE DESIGNED TO PREVENT INADVERTENT OPENING OF THE BAGGAGE DOOR. THE OPERATOR DID NOT REQUIRE THAT THE BAGGAGE DOOR BE LOCKED FOR FLIGHT, AND KEYS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_ANC90LA062.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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