NTSB CAROL · Event
Event FTW91LA110
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
ENTRY DOOR OPENING IN FLIGHT, INADEQUATE EMERGENCY PROCEDURES PUBLISHED BY THE MANUFACTURER, AND POOR EMERGENCY TRAINING BY THE STUDENT'S INSTRUCTOR. FACTORS WERE INADEQUATE DESIGN/INSTALLATION OF THE DOOR LOCKING MECHANISM, DETERIORATED AIRPLANE PERFORMANCE, AND THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE.
Factual narrative
THE STUDENT PILOT'S DOOR OPENED IMMEDIATELY AFTER TAKEOFF. THE TAKEOFF WAS CONTINUED WITH REPEATED ATTEMPTS MADE TO CLOSE THE DOOR. THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWER WAS ADVISED OF THE SITUATION BUT AN EMERGENCY WAS NOT DECLARED. WHILE ON AN EXTENDED FINAL APPROACH, WHICH RESULTED FROM ATCT INSTRUCTIONS, CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE WAS LOST DUE TO THE OPEN DOOR. THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH TREES AND CAME TO REST IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA. THE INSTRUCTOR HAD NEVER DEMONSTRATED A DOOR OPEN SITUATION IN FLIGHT. BEECHCRAFT HAD ISSUED SPECIFIC PROCEDURES FOR THIS EMERGENCY IN MARCH, 1987, VIA A SAFETY COMMUNIQUE. THESE PROCEDURES WERE NEVER INCORPORATED INTO THE PILOT'S OPERATING HANDBOOK. THE FAA OPERATIONS INSPECTOR, THE OPERATOR, THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR AND THE STUDENT PILOT HAD NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE SAFETY COMMUNIQUE PROCEDURES. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1991_FTW91LA110.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Conference Paper
Computational Analysis of Steady State Aerodynamics of Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Configuration in Deep Stall
This study presents a computational investigation of steady state aerodynamics of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration over a wide range …
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Automating Bird Diverter Installation through Multi-Aerial Robots and Signal Temporal Logic Specifications
This paper tackles the task assignment and trajectory generation problem for bird diverter installation using a fleet of multi-rotors.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Polycrystallinity enhances stress build-up around ice
Damage caused by freezing wet, porous materials is a widespread problem, but is hard to predict or control. Here, we show that polycrystallinity makes a great difference to the stress build-up process…
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Enhanced Prediction of Three-dimensional Finite Iced Wing Separated Flow Near Stall
Icing on three-dimensional wings causes severe flow separation near stall. Standard improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) is unable to correctly predict the separating reattaching flow due…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2021 · Journal article (JAAER)
Analysis on the Negative Emotional, Physiological, and Cognitive Responses Elicited from of the Activation of a Stall Alarm
Failing to identify an aerodynamic stall can lead to the inability of an aircraft to sustain flight. To warn pilots of an impending or fully-developed stall, many aircraft have safety devices installe…
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