Lehigh Valley International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Allentown, Pennsylvania 18101
Monday, May 3, 2004 12:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

As the landing gear was retracted during takeoff, the flightcrew heard a "loud boom," and received an "unsafe door condition" warning. They confirmed that the main cabin door had opened, declared an emergency, and returned to land uneventfully. The flight attendant was seated adjacent to the door handle during the takeoff; however, she could not recall if she may have inadvertently rested her arm on the door handle while seated. Examination of the door and its locking mechanisms revealed no mechanical deficiencies. Data downloaded from the airplane's flight data recorder (FDR) revealed the "Doors" parameter indicated "Open" approximately 1.7 seconds after the Air/Ground parameter indicated "Air". No additional anomalies were noted.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The opening of the main cabin door after takeoff, for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Incident
Event Date 5/3/2004
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1230
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Allentown
Event State PENNSYLVANIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 18101
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 403908N
Event Location Longitude 0752625W
Event Location Airport Lehigh Valley International
Event Location Nearest Airport ID ABE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 394
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1235 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID ABE
Elevation of weather observation facility 394
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2700
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2100
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 4
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 9
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.95
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 30
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 18030
NTSB Notification Source FAA FSDO
NTSB Notification Date May 3 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1300
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 7 2005 10:33AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Cincinnati FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N441JS
NTSB Number NYC04IA116
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 121: Air Carrier
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage None
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Dornier
Aircraft Model DO-328-100
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 3059
Certified Max Gross Weight 30843
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 35
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Mar 26 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 254
Airframe Hours 22127
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Wells Fargo Bank Northwest
Aircraft Owner Street Address 299 S Main St
Aircraft Owner City Salt Lake City
Aircraft Owner State UT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 84111
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name PSA AIRLINES INC
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 3400 Terminal Dr
Operator City Vandalia
Operator State OH
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 45377
Operator Code VNAA
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code ABE
Departure City Allentown
Departure State PA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1155
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code PHL
Destination City Philadelphia
Destination State PA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? Yes
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 5 2005 11:15AM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 6
Runway Length 7600
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --