Plane door flew open at 2,000ft with 'loud bang' during flight in Yorkshire

An investigation was launched after the incident, which happened shortly after the Piper PA-31 aircraft set off from Doncaster Sheffield Airport in July 2021, with two passengers on board.

They were travelling to Hull to carry out an aerial survey when the door came open at 9.33am.

But the 26-year-old pilot, who has not been named, managed to return to Doncast and land the plane safely at 10am. No one was injured during the incident.

The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) found a screw in the latch of the cabin door was loose and it fractured during the flight.

The AAIB said: “The aircraft’s lower cabin door came open in flight when a screw forming part of the door’s forward latching mechanism fractured.

“The aircraft landed safely and the investigation determined that the cabin door’s rear latch was probably not locked when the cabin door was closed, allowing the door to open when the screw fractured.

“The screw had not been securely fastened and was loose, which contributed to a fatigue failure of the screw.”

Investigators also found the door had been “closed without difficulty” before the flight and no issues were identified during the pre‑departure checks.

The report added: “The operator conducted testing of the cabin door following the incident and noted that when closing the doors from the inside, the rear latch pin was observed to not always fully engage in its latch hook when the door handle was in the closed position.

“This condition could only be seen from inside the cabin when conducting a visual inspection using a torch and would not be immediately visible or apparent to the crew members.”