Cargo Door Warning System

Keywords: Cargo door, Hawker Beechcraft 1900D.

Abstract. This report is to observe and find a practical solution for the problem that causes the Hawker Beechcraft 1900D [1], ZK-EAQ to involve in accident. The accident was happen on Friday 9 April 2010. Hawker Beechcraft 1900D, ZK-EAQ was departed from Auckland International Airport. As the aeroplane became airborne the rear cargo door opened. The crew returned and landed the aeroplane safely. There were no injuries and minor damage only to the aeroplane. So, to prevent this accident happen again in the future, a warning system will be created where it will have a special cover that will detect whether the cargo door is closed or not.

Introduction

On Friday 9 April 2010, Eagle 854 was a scheduled flight from Auckland International Airport to Whangarei using ZK-EAQ, a Hawker Beechcraft Corporation 1900D (Beech 1900D) aeroplane. The aeroplane was operated by Eagle Airways Limited (the operator), one of the Air New Zealand group of companies. On board the aeroplane were 10 passengers and a crew of 2 pilots.The aeroplane had earlier that morning been flown from Kerikeri to Auckland by another crew, landing at Auckland at about 0735. The crew of Eagle 854 reported for duty at 0720 and met the arriving crew as part of their flight preparation. The crew of Eagle 854 reviewed the aircraft documentation and noted an entry in the aircraft technical log that stated that the cargo door annunciator light3 remained illuminated after the door was closed. There was no associated master warning indication, so an engineer had cleared the aircraft for flight in accordance with the operator’s Dispatch Deviation Procedures Guide (DDPG) with the condition that a crew member confirmed by visual inspection that the door was latched prior to each departure.
ZK-EAQ was parked at gate 34 of the domestic terminal, positioned heading away from the terminal area and passenger access point. After the aeroplane had been refuelled, the first officer positioned himself near the left wing of the aircraft to direct boarding passengers around the wing and towards the entry door on the forward left side of the aeroplane. The captain meanwhile was on board the aeroplane completing his before-start checks. A loader was also present to assist with loading baggage and dispatching the aeroplane.
After the last bag had been placed in the cargo hold, the loader said that he lowered the rear cargo door, rotated the handle to the horizontal position and moved to the front of the aircraft and removed a “fast bag” trolley in preparation for engine start (see Figure 1). The first officer, after escorting the last passenger to the entry door, donned his hi-visibility vest and started his final walk-around inspection of the aeroplane before boarding and joining the captain.
The captain later commented that after the first officer had boarded the aeroplane, they discussed the cargo door warning light remaining illuminated as expected from the DDPG entry. The first officer confirmed he had checked the cargo door, so the crew continued their preparations for departure. At 0807, about on schedule, the engines were started and ZK-EAQ taxied for take-off. At about 0815, ZK-EAQ commenced its take-off roll on runway 05. As the aeroplane lifted off, the passengers and crew heard a loud noise from the rear. At the same time, several control tower staff observed that the cargo door was almost fully open.
The crew suspected the cargo door had opened, and this was confirmed shortly after by the tower controller, so they initiated a return to the aerodrome. The aeroplane was landed at about 0820 and returned to the gate to offload the passengers. There were no injuries and minor damage only to an antenna and a cargo door gas strut. No baggage was lost overboard.[2]

Figure 1. Show instruction to open cargo door

Background Study

Miami Air flight 665.

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 take-off and returned to an uneventful landing on runway 26R at Sky Harbor Airport, Phoenix, Arizona. The flight was on a non-scheduled 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 failure of the ground handling personnel to properly secure the aft cargo door following the loading of the late arriving baggage. A factor in the incident was an intermittent cargo door warning light circuit due to contamination in the proximity switch terminals. [3].

Methodology

An observation and analysis will be done by referring to the case reported. A few generation of ideas is done that can solved the case occurred, the simplest and efficient ideas will be choose. The chosen idea is planned, draft and constructed to achieve a simplest electrical system and then can be adapted to the circuit board. A test will be done and a prototype will be constructed for a further test. Data from the test will be collected and analysed either to improve or certified that the system is success.

A circuit is being drafted. In the circuit, a few components include like LEDs, wire, buzzer, thermistor, a circuit board and switches. A simple parallel circuit will be used in this circuit. By referring to Figure 2, when the pilot start the engine, the switch on the door is normally open when the door is close/lock and close when the door open. If the door is not locked it will produce warning light and sound which is located in the cabin so that the flight attendants aware of this condition. The flight attendants will take the responsibility to tell the maintenance crew to check the door condition. The system will help the flight crew and the pilot awareness itself to ensure the door is lock properly thus, it increase the safety of the aircraft

Result

The system is expected to well operated and provide visual and aural indication to the pilot inside the cockpit if the door is still not locked properly by maintenance crew. This system also will inform the pilot whether it is operated correctly or not by a red indication light and buzzer sound disappear.

Summary

This warning system will detect whether the door is open or closed. It will warn pilot with a flashing red light and an aural sound if the door is still open during start of the aircraft until it closed back properly. By using this system, it can help to prevent the same accident to occur in future.
References
[1] Information on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Beechcraft_1900D [2] Information on: http://www.taic.org.nz/ReportsandSafetyRecs/AviationReports/tabid/78/Page/2/language/en- US/Default.aspx [3] Information on http://www.fss.aero/accident-reports/look.php?report_key=114