An aircraft made an emergency landing in New York State following a door falling off of its structure during flight. The landing of the small plane in Buffalo represented the second similar issue among flights in recent months.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the plane landed safely on Tuesday after it reportedly lost its left rear passenger door. According to the FAA, a single-engine Diamond DA40 aircraft carrying two people was able to land around 5:30 p.m.
While there were no reported injuries, the cause of the incident is now under investigation.
Door flies off small plane outside Buffalo https://t.co/MMTW1Ridhf pic.twitter.com/6CD02qmvjB
— New York Post (@nypost) February 13, 2024
The incident occurred several miles from the airport, with the pilot telling air traffic control that the plane had “an emergency, we’re headed back.”
“We lost our rear door,” the pilot added.
The door itself has not been found.
This is the second flight in two months that had a door fly off an aircraft mid-flight. An Alaska Air flight in January saw its door removed, sparking another emergency landing.
The door on the Boeing 737 Max 9 came loose and caused a depressurization incident on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Jan. 5. According to a lawsuit against both the airline and Boeing alleges that there was a “whistling sound” from near the door plug during a previous flight. The matter was allegedly brought to the flight crew during the incident.
The suit further claims that the airline did not remediate the issue.
An initial report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that the door was designed to remove itself during a depressurization scenario. However, the crew of the flight, including the pilots, had not been informed of this.
The lawsuit claims that the “resulting shock, noise and communication difficulties contributed to a lack of proper communication between the flight crew and passengers, thereby intensifying confusion and stress.”
Dramatic photos show the removed door during the flight from Oregon heading toward Ontario, California. The incident occurred at around 16,000 feet. There were no serious injuries.
