Aeroflot flight SU-1485 had to return and make an emergency landing at Yemelyanovo International Airport, Russia, on November 13th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane took off for Sheremetyevo International Airport, Russia, but had to turn back due to indication of an open cargo door.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Aerolineas Argentinas flight AR-1132 had to return and make an emergency landing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 26th.
The Airbus A340-300 plane took off for Madrid, Spain, but had to turn back due to indication of an issue with a landing gear door.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
A Dana Air plane’s emergency exit door fell off shortly after landing at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Nigeria, on February 7th.
The incident happened when the flight coming from Lagos, Nigeria, was taxiing on the runway.
One passenger fell out of the plane.
The airline said in a statement, “The emergency exit door of our aircraft are plug-type backed by pressure, which ordinarily cannot fall off without tampering or a conscious effort to open by a crew member or passenger.”
LGW Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter flight AB-8621 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Geneva Airport, Le Grand-Saconnex, Switzerland, on May 28th.
The de Havilland Dash 8-400 flying to Dusseldorf, Germany, on behalf of Air Berlin, had to return due to an open door indication.
The plane landed safely.
No injuries were reported.
Delta Airlines flight DL-159 made an emergency landing in Detroit, Michigan, on May 20th.
The Boeing 747-400 plane took off for Seoul, South Korea, but had to return shortly afterwards due to indication of an open panel door.
The plane landed back safely. All 375 passengers aboard remained unharmed.
PSA Airlines flight AA-5550 had to divert and make an emergency landing at McGhee Tyson Airport, Blount County, Tennessee, on May 8th.
The Canadair CRJ-200 flying on behalf of American Airlines was flying from Nashville, Tennessee, to Washington DC, when it had to divert due to indication of open door.
The plane landed safely.
All 47 passengers and 3 crew members remained safe.
SkyWest Airlines flight OO-5215 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Grand Island, Nebraska, on April 18th.
The plane heading from Omaha, Nebraska, to San Francisco, California, was diverted after the crew received an indication of an open door.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Yakutia Airlines flight R3-497 made an emergency landing in Yakutsk, Russia, on January 5th.
The plane took off for Blagoveshchensk, Russia, but had to return shortly afterwards due to indication of an open door.
The plane landed safely. There were 50 people aboard at the time; all of them remained unharmed.
Aurora Airlines flight HZ-209 had to return for an emergency landing in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia, on December 19th.
The plane took off for Blagoveshchensk, Russia, but had to return shortly afterwards after the crew received an open door indication.
The plane landed back safely. All 50 passengers and 4 crew members remained unharmed.
Delta Airlines flight DL-404 had to return and make an emergency landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, on August 11.
The Boeing 777-200 en-route to Paris, France, had just departed when the crew noticed an open cargo door indication.
The plane landed safely after dumping fuel.
No injuries were reported.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Andrew Compolo
What: Continental Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Port of Spain ,Trinidad/Tobago to Houston,TX
Where: Port of Spain
When: Aug 16 2011
Who: 155 passengers and 6 crew
Why: After takeoff, the crew noted an indication that a door was open.
The flight crew elected to return to the airport where they made a safe landing.
The door was closed, and the flight took off again and continued normally, arriving several hours late, but safely.
What: United Express/Atlantic Southeast Airlines en route from Burlington International Airport to Washington-Dulles in Virginia
Where: Burlington International Airport, Vermont
When: Jan 24, 2010 6:45 a.m.
Who: 43 passengers
Why: While en route, the pilot was having trouble steering; a light indicated that a passenger door was open. A “Phase 5 Emergency” was declared, and rescue vehicles were on standby.
The flight returned to Burlington International Airport not long after takeoff and made a safe landing.
There were no injuries reported.
The April 9 emergency landing of Eagle Air/Air New Zealand Beech 1900D en route from Auckland to Whangarei, attributed to an open rear cargo door, has been blamed on untrained baggage handlers who did not lock cargo doors.
The hatch flew open on takeoff. See the link to a photograph of the open door posted on the NZ Herald
The doors tend to be left unlocked in case late bags come in; but that is not a good safety practice because a broken cargo door can smash the tail of the plane or worse.
What: Air India A-330 en route from Thiruvananthapuram to Dammam Saudi Arabia
Where: Thiruvananthapuram
When: Nov 10, 2010, 6 pm
Who: 82 passengers including two infants
Why: The flight had a normal takeoff, but forty minutes into the route, the pilot received a sensor warning about the plane’s doors. The jet returned to the airport, circled to burn off fuel, and made a hard landing during which a tire burst and the brakes jammed. The plane was stuck on the runway for four hours.
Passengers were rebooked on a Thursday morning flight out and provided overnight hotel accommodations.
Officials of the Director General of Civil Aviation have arrived to begin the official inquiry.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Dn280
What: Biman Bangladesh Airbus A310-300 en route from Kuwait to Dhaka Bangladesh
Where: Kuwait
When: Oct 14 2010
Who: 229 passengers
Why: During take-off, an indicator displayed that a cargo door was open, so the take-off was aborted; braking caught the wheels on fire. The plane was evacuated, with no injuries.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Galen Burrows
What: British Airways Boeing 747-400 en route from London to New York
Where: London
When: Oct 2 2010
Who: 296 aboard
Why: The plane took off, spent eleven minutes in the air and returned to make a safe landing in London.
After takeoff, a warning light notified the crew that a door was not firmly closed.
Passengers were rebooked on an alternative flight. The problem in the plane was traced not to an open door but a sequence glitch which occurred when a door handle moved enough to set off an alarm, and was logistically unable to be secured.
What: Ethiopian airplane Boeing 737-800 Flight 407 en route from Addis Ababa to Beirut
Where: Beirut International Airport
When: June 17 2010
Who: 78 passengers
Why: The flight returned to the airport because of an “undisclosed technical problem.” Crew noticed a door was rattling and had been closed improperly. (It is unclear if that was the technical problem.) The flight made a safe landing. The same plane was cleared for takeoff six hours later.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Andy Egloff
What: Delta Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50 en route from Minneapolis to Saint Louis
Where: Minneapolis
When: Jun 7th 2010
Why: After takeoff, the crew had a technical problem, was alerted to landing gear doors open, and made a flyby to visually determine the doors were open. The plane landed safely No mention if the initial technical problem was the open doors or some other matter.
What: Air New Zealand/Eagle Airways Beech 1900D en route from Auckland to Whangarei
Where: Auckland
When: Apr 9 2010
Who: 9 passengers and 3 crew
Why: While en route, the left cargo door opened. The crew landed the plane back at the airport. There were no injuries.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Misha Tyukin
What: American Airlines Boeing 767-200 en route from New York JFK to Los Angeles
Where: Dulles, Washington
When: Apr 6th 2010
Who: 152 passengers
Why: While en route, the systems detected an indication that a cargo door was “not fully secure”. The flight diverted to Dulles where it made an unscheduled stop, and landed safely. The cargo door problem was promptly taken care of by mechanics before the flight continued on to LA.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Kevin Rowett
What: Saudi Arabian Boeing 777-200 en route from New York to Riyadh Saudi Arabia
Where: New York
When: Nov 28th 2009
Who: not available
Why: While en route, the plane indicated a main gear door not closing. The plane dumped fuel and returned to NY for a safe landing less than an hour after take-off
Pictured: An EasyJet Airline Airbus A319-111
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Mathias Henig
What: Easyjet Airbus A319-100 en route from Paris to Nice
Where: Paris
When: Nov 21st 2009
Who: N/A
Why: While en route, the Airbus control panel indicated that the gear door remained open after the gear was retracted. The plane returned to the Orly airport for a safe landing.
Note: We don’t have a follow-up indication telling us if this was a technical problem, a physical problem, or if the sensors or software was just overly sensitive.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Vala
What: Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Istanbul to Konya
Where: Istanbul
When: Nov 22 2009
Who: 101 passengers
Why: While en route, the crew received an open cargo door indication. The plane returned to Ataturk Airport and made a safe landing. Passengers debarked and transferred to alternative flights.
What: Northwest Airlines flight 2271 en route from Baton Rouge to Memphis
Where: Baton Rouge Metro Airport Monday
When: Monday May 4, 2009
Who: 49 people on board
Why: When an access door to avionics maintenance on the bottom of the jet opened, the flight returned to Baton Rouge and circled to use fuel before landing.
George’s Point of View
Better safe than sorry.