N804MA

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On January 5, 1999, at 0951 hours mountain standard time, a Boeing 727-225A, N804MA, Miami Air flight 665, declared an in-flight emergency right after takeoff and returned to an uneventful landing on runway 26R at Sky Harbor Airport, Phoenix, Arizona. The flight was on a nonscheduled domestic passenger flight operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 121 and was destined for Nashville, Tennessee. The airplane sustained minor damage as a result of an open aft cargo door. The 3 flight crew, 5 flight attendants, and 170 passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the incident. The airplane was on an IFR flight plan and clearance to Nashville.

The airplane had just departed runway 8R and was climbing through 1,000 feet when they had reports from a passenger in row 32 that he observed an open cargo door. He brought this to the attention of a rear flight attendant, who verified the observation and immediately notified the cockpit. Immediately after notifying the cockpit of the situation, the flight attendant and passenger observed the door fly all the way open. The captain stated that he looked at the flight engineer's panel and "did not see a door light." He said that a substantial bang was heard and felt throughout the airframe. A review of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Phoenix Tracon north departure air-ground communications transcripts revealed that the crew declared an emergency at 0953:28, and stated their intention to return for a landing on runway 26R. After they declared an emergency, they commenced an emergency dump of fuel and landed successfully.

The Safety Board interviewed the passenger sitting in row 32F on January 8, 1999. The passenger said that as the airplane began to power off the runway, he noticed a compartment door "pop" open. He said he notified a flight attendant in the rear jumpseat who looked at it and quickly called the cockpit about an open cargo bay door. He stated that about that time, the airplane decelerated and leveled off. He said one of the cockpit crewmembers came on the public address (PA) system and notified the passengers that they were going to declare an emergency and that they would be returning to the airport. He also said that they stated that they did not have a warning light on in the cockpit. He said he could not see the position of the door handle from where he was sitting. He said that when he first noticed the door, it was about 40 percent open. Shortly after that, he said the airflow forced it all the way open.

The Safety Board contacted airport operations and asked if they might have security videotape monitoring of the airplane as it pushed back from the ramp area. Airport officials said they did not have any videotape from the affected area. Additionally, since the airplane was taxing with the cargo door facing away from the ramp area, no eyewitnesses were found on any adjacent ramp areas to verify the condition of the cargo door prior to takeoff.

Responding airport fire department units from the Aviation Fire Operations Center provided the Safety Board with a statement regarding their observations immediately after arriving at the airplane. They stated that about 0955, Station 19 responded to an "Alert II" involving a charter 727. The airplane declared an unknown emergency following their departure from Phoenix airport. Upon RIV-19's arrival at their predesignated staging area, they observed an inbound aircraft approaching runway 26R at a low altitude, which was trailed by jettisoned fuel. As the aircraft came to a stop on the runway they inspected the airplane's exterior and observed that the right rear cargo door was open. The fire personnel stated the latch on the cargo door was "closed or flush with the surface of the exterior skin of the door," and that one article of cargo was partially protruding from the cargo bay.

Following the shutdown of the No. 3 engine, the determination was made that it was safe for the aircraft to taxi to its designated parking area, and Station 19 equipment accompanied them to that location.

A mechanic from Dimension Aviation said he was one of the first people to respond to the Boeing 727 after it arrived back on the ramp. He said he drove a company van to the No. 3 engine area and parked it abeam the engine. He said he stood on top of a rack, which was located on top of the van. He said he noticed that the aft cargo door was in a 90-degree position to the airframe. He said he also noticed that the inner door liner and insulation blanket was hanging down. He stated that the both the door handle and the hold-open rod were in the stowed position. He said he grabbed the door handle and tried to close the door, and in the process, the handle came out to the open position. He said he was at the airplane before the FAA arrived on the scene.

An airworthiness inspector from the FAA was at airport on unrelated business when he noticed the emergency vehicles around the Miami Air Boeing 727. He said he asked an airport authority officer what had happened and was told that the aft bag pit door came open in-flight. He said he then proceeded directly to the airplane. He met the captain as he came down the aft stairs, and, after the passengers had deplaned, asked that the captain return to the cockpit with the other crewmembers. The inspector questioned each crewmember specifically about the events that took place. One of the questions he asked was whether anybody had seen the aft bag pit door light illuminated on the anunciator panel, which is located on the lower right corner of the flight engineer's panel. Their answer was "no." He asked the first officer if he noticed any engine instrument fluctuations when the loud bangs occurred and his answer was "no."

Additionally, at the FAA's insistence, maintenance personnel performed an after-incident bag count and they off-loaded a total of 208 bags.

The captain filled out a Miami Air International report of irregularity concerning the flight. In the narrative he said that the R2 flight attendant came on the interphone and said the "cargo door was open." He said he looked at the engineer's panel and did not see a door light. He said he then heard a substantial bang, and felt a shudder through the airframe and he realized they had a serious problem. He stated he declared an emergency, dumped fuel, and landed on runway 26R at Phoenix.

CREW INTERVIEWS

The captain was interviewed on January 6th, 1999, in Miami, Florida. He stated that the trip segment began on January 2nd and the airplane had been flown to Sarasota, then diverted to Columbus, Ohio. On January 3rd, the airplane was flown to Green Bay, Wisconsin, and then positioned to Phoenix. On the day of the incident, the captain said he was "running late" and mentioned an error on the dispatch release, which required certification. He signed the dispatch release about 40 minutes before the flight departed. He mentioned that the airplane was positioned on the north side of the airfield at the Ragsdale ramp and it was required to be repositioned to the south side of the airfield.

The captain stated that the flight engineer (FE) was "hustling" due to the unexpected repositioning of the airplane. He said they repositioned the airplane and before the FE did his final walk around, he advised the FE to check the cargo nets. He said he assumed everything was OK, because when the FE returned to the cockpit, there were no cargo door lights illuminated on the annunciator panel, only the APU light was on. He stated that the scheduled departure time was 0800, with the load manifest indicating that there were 172 passengers, with 168 passengers already at the aircraft.

The captain indicated that two additional passengers finally arrived and the ground handlers had given him a bag count of 202 before the late passengers arrived. After the last passengers arrived, they pushed back from the ramp almost immediately. The captain stated he then started the No. 1 and 3 engine, followed by the No. 2 engine. He said he turned right out of the ramp and taxied to runway 8R. He stated that there were no abnormal indications during the taxi-out to the runway.

The captain stated that the APU was shut down before the takeoff checklist was performed, and that there were no abnormal indications during the takeoff roll. He said while they were climbing through 1,000 feet to level off, he heard the flight attendant's (FA) bell chime, and she advised him of the open cargo door. The captain stated he did not see any cargo door light illuminated on the annunciator panel. He said he then heard a "bang" and felt a vibration. He stated he declared an emergency, and while flying at 1,500 feet felt the airframe shudder. He said in his written statement that he sent the FE to check the door, and, after his return to the cockpit, to dump fuel in preparation for landing.

He said while he was turning the aircraft to a northerly heading, he felt "bangs" throughout the airframe, and brought the thrust lever for the No. 3 engine to flight idle, but the "bangs" continued. He said he then increased the thrust on the No. 3 engine to the normal range. He said he did not observe any indications of a compressor stall on any of the engine instruments. He said he then performed a 270-degree turn to the right and landed uneventfully on runway 26R. He said he brought the airplane to a stop on the runway and fire rescue advised them that there was an open door.

Additionally, the captain said that a Dimension maintenance individual advised him that the cargo door was "faired" and the cargo net was secure when the airplane stopped on the runway. The captain said he then taxied the airplane to the ramp and after repositioning it, noticed for the first time that there was a cargo door light illuminated in the cockpit. He said he was the first per...