DA62 opens door in flight

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janders
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DA62 opens door in flight

Post by janders »

I saw this when browsing Reddit this morning and decided to save it for posterity.

https://youtu.be/ZZy7sfqDzvA

Here is the description of what supposedly happened:

The footage was captured on March 8, 2023

A Pilot-in-training, Ronald aged 33, was asked to jiggle the handle after a malfunction with the door sensors warned they were open when they were not. But as Ronald jiggled the door to see if the sensor would give back an accurate reading, the door flew open sending fast-moving air into the cockpit, making it difficult to close again.

So Ronald had to hang on to it while they were cleared for immediate landing.

After the pair landed, they laughed about the incident and when contacted by air traffic control asking if they needed assistance, they said no as they were getting ready to take off again.
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thommy152
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Re: DA62 opens door in flight

Post by thommy152 »

That must be a well-built door. I’m impressed it didn’t get torn off. Thanks for sharing!
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mhoran
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Re: DA62 opens door in flight

Post by mhoran »

Yikes! Well it's good to see Diamond has made some improvements over the DA40/DA42 door hinges. A few of us have had the rear door depart the airplane on the DA40 (and maybe the 42?) The hinges are pretty small and very weak. To not have the door depart means there must have been some significant design change. My understanding is the DA40/DA42 door was designed specifically to depart the plane if it were to open in flight.

Having had numerous issues with doors over the course of ownership, I've learned the hard way that the best thing to do when the door alarm goes off in flight is to not touch the door or the handle. Trying to fix such issues in flight has always made the situation worse in my experience.
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Steve
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Re: DA62 opens door in flight

Post by Steve »

thommy152 wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2023 3:04 pm That must be a well-built door. I’m impressed it didn’t get torn off. Thanks for sharing!
Is there a secondary latch on the DA62 doors like the rear hatch on the 40?
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Ed McDonald
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Re: DA62 opens door in flight

Post by Ed McDonald »

The passenger door only has a secondary latch.
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photoSteveZ
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Re: DA62 opens door in flight

Post by photoSteveZ »

Interesting how the door floated up to only about halfway open. I’m glad to know that. I wonder if a hard left slip would allow you to get it latched again?
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mfdutra
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Re: DA62 opens door in flight

Post by mfdutra »

I'm glad with how tight the DA62 doors close. It really feels like a pressurized door latch.
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MackAttack
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Re: DA62 opens door in flight

Post by MackAttack »

Oddly enough, last weekend I got the “passenger door open” red CAS message on our way back to Houston from a nice lunch and slot machine visit in Lake Charles with a good friend of mine (and former student pilot who had been jonesing to fly in my new 62). The door did not open however and he said it felt solidly closed to him (I asked him not to touch the latch). Nothing else happened and the message went away once there was weight on the wheels. I locked it but haven’t had a chance to fly it since due to work and weather. Will keep an eye on it and report back. It could have not been latched correctly although the latches seem stone solid to me (and to my passenger also, as he commented on it earlier in the day relative to a 172).

I think that like all doors, it’s possible to think the doors are latched when they are not fully so, but I have to say the doors on the 62 seem very, very solid. Will post if there are further developments.

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Paul
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Re: DA62 opens door in flight

Post by Paul »

Is there a procedure in the DA62 POH for a door open or warning? That's what I would follow. I have read a lot of accident reports where someone tried to mess with an open door and came to harm instead of just flying the plane to a normal landing and fixing it.
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Re: DA62 opens door in flight

Post by mhoran »

This seems to be a bit of an oversight between the DA40/42 and DA62 POH. But the following text is included re: the passenger door, which is similar to that in the DA40 POH:

Do not try to lock the passenger door in flight. The safety latch may disengage and the door opens. Usually this results in a separation of the door from the airplane.

However, there is no instruction for the pilot and copilot doors, aside from "check visually if closed." There is a separate section for the passenger door, where the above text is contained. I suspect this is an oversight given the 40 and 42 have a front hinged canopy, vs the 62 hinged pilot and copilot doors.
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