Silly question: opening the door prior to emergency landing.

spdracer888

spdracer888

Pre-takeoff checklist
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spdracer888
I was taught that you (and your passenger) should crack the door(s) open on a Cessna prior to making an emergency landing. While I understand the reason behind this action, I wonder if having a pair of closed doors will help retain cockpit structural integrity better: i.e. helps to protect against cockpit getting crumpled?
 
I'm not sure but I do know that it's legal to fly my 182 without the doors. And I did once...just to be able to say I did.

Kinda noisy!
 
I'm hoping an emergency landing in my cherokee wouldn't be so hard that I would need any structural improvement due to the door.

I'd prefer not to have a stuck door (I realize that any window can be kicked out, etc etc etc).
 
Doors really don't provide much structural strength. You do this to make sure the doors aren't wedged shut by any airframe twist.
 
Having gull wing doors ,it's not an option. Carry a hammer for escape. Was taught to unlock door on Cherokees. .
 
People have burned to death after crashes because they couldn't get the door to open due to deformation. I dont think they contribute much to the structure, but they can sure jam.
 
weilke said:
I dont think they contribute much to the structure, but they can sure jam.
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Based on what I saw in the wreckage of a friend's C172 that suffered a fuel system blockage engine failure on takeoff, I am inclined to believe this too. The doors would have added very little to the crashworthiness of the cabin area, but sure could've jammed shut when the airplane flipped over and came to rest upside down, basically rolled up in a ball of twisted aluminum foil. The fuel tanks ruptured and avgas was everywhere They both climbed out of the wreckage cut up and banged up pretty badly, but still walked away under their own power. They unlatched the doors just before touchdown. Having a newly installed set of shoulder harness seat belts in the vintage Cessna probably had more to do with their survival with non-life-threatening injuries. If the plane still would have had only the original lap belts, they both probably would have died in the wreck.
 
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...yeah ours is pretty tight with a straight frame...could see landing rough and bending it up even a little making that door impossible to open. As others have said, I've had our door off - I don't think it's adding much to structural integrity and it's certainly not worth having to take the extra time to kick a window out or something if there's a fire and you're trying to get people out.
 
timwinters said:
it's legal to fly my 182 without the doors. And I did once...just to be able to say I did.

Kinda noisy!
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My old Cherokee had a POH supplement on conducting flight with the door removed. It states when when flying with door removed the obvious things such as make sure there are no loose items in the airplane that can get sucked out, and that all occupants must be wearing the safety belts, but one kinda funny thing the text says is that smoking is prohibited in the plane while in flight with door removed. Of course, Cherokees from this era were often equipped with ashtrays and cigarette lighters... all the while you're sitting on top of up to 50 gallons of avgas in the wings.
 
I'd pop the doors. One less thing in the way if pushing comes to shoving.

timwinters said:
I'm not sure but I do know that it's legal to fly my 182 without the doors. And I did once...just to be able to say I did.

Kinda noisy!
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Nothing nicer than chugging down the shoreline with the doors off (open works for me as well) on a hot summer day.

Nice for pictures as well.
 
spdracer888 said:
I was taught that you (and your passenger) should crack the door(s) open on a Cessna prior to making an emergency landing. While I understand the reason behind this action, I wonder if having a pair of closed doors will help retain cockpit structural integrity better: i.e. helps to protect against cockpit getting crumpled?
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Won't matter. You'll complete your emergency shutdown perfectly. NTSB will report the fuel selector was noted to be in the OFF position and mixture pulled (as well as ignitiion and master off). There'll be 10 posters stating what a dumb arse the pilot was for taking off with the fuel selector in the OFF position the day after the accident just prior to the NTSB release.;)
 
I remember the story of a Pan Am wreck in Pago Pago in 1973 where bodies piled up at the door exits. The 6 or so that got out did it through one or more wing emergency exits. The door exits got jammed if I recall correctly. And the fire started quickly as the plane had lots of fuel on board.

I believe in unlatching the doors on my Warrior if I am going down.
 
Warrior said:
I remember the story of a Pan Am wreck in Pago Pago in 1973 where bodies piled up at the door exits. The 6 or so that got out did it through one or more wing emergency exits. The door exits got jammed if I recall correctly. And the fire started quickly as the plane had lots of fuel on board.

I believe in unlatching the doors on my Warrior if I am going down.
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On my Warrior.. I did too..:yes:..

As a side note.. If you look at the pics of the 170 that hit the parachuter.. His door broke open all by itself.. Watch the time lapse sequense...
 
I was told to unlatch the door on a Warrior also.
 
Warrior said:
I remember the story of a Pan Am wreck in Pago Pago in 1973 where bodies piled up at the door exits. The 6 or so that got out did it through one or more wing emergency exits. The door exits got jammed if I recall correctly. And the fire started quickly as the plane had lots of fuel on board.
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Pressurized planes are a bit different. In the Quincy,IL Beech 1900 crash, two Beech 1900 pilots who were on the airport got to the burning wreck and were able to talk to the pilot inside of the plane. They were trying to get the door open but it was jammed. All 14 on board died from either carbon monoxide poisoning or 'inhalation of products of combustion'.
 
My first US based checkout instructor told me open the door and stick something like a shoe in it to prevent it closing shut at the last minute
 
Scrabo said:
My first US based checkout instructor told me open the door and stick something like a shoe in it to prevent it closing shut at the last minute
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Where are you going to get a shoe? If I crash I want my shoes on my feet!
 
So on plane with sliding canopy like the Grumman AA5 series I have heard to crack the sliding canopy in an emergency landing. But this post got me thinking about how it bad it would be to have the canopy stuck only a few inches open and not be able to get out.

Those things stick if you push them from one side as it is and not near the center on regular usage.

I am thinking full open in an emergency off airport landing, of course my head might get scratched in an upside down encounter.:dunno:
 
MyassisDragon said:
So on plane with sliding canopy like the Grumman AA5 series I have heard to crack the sliding canopy in an emergency landing. But this post got me thinking about how it bad it would be to have the canopy stuck only a few inches open and not be able to get out.

Those things stick if you push them from one side as it is and not near the center on regular usage.

I am thinking full open in an emergency off airport landing, of course my head might get scratched in an upside down encounter.:dunno:
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The Grumman can be open in flight about 8 inches (its marked) if at or below manuevering speed. If you're running the checklist, open the canopy wide open and put your elbow there to keep it open **OR** some guys have a piece of PVC pipe that is slot cut to jam in there and KEEP it open. Mainly in case you flip over.
 
Jhernandez04 said:
Do you want your feet or your life, pick one but not both. Hurry and answer. :confused:
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I'm more concerned about having shoes on to kick out the windshield and escape a potentially burning plane on unknown terrain than attempting to wedge the door open. The shoe would fall out with the slightest impact anyway.
 
Clark1961 said:
Ant significant maneuvering - is that a new way of saying "hit the ground"???
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If you've ever had a door open in flight, you know that anything other than perfectly coordinated flight will cause them to swing more and less open. Anything propping them open would just fall out.
 
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