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A BE58 cabin door popped open right after takeoff. The distracted pilot returned to land on the wrong runway because while dealing with open door he had to reassure the non pilot passenger in the right seat that the aircraft was flyable.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 948811 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201105 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Baron 58/58TC |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Landing |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Exterior Pax/Crew Door |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 60 Flight Crew Total 8000 Flight Crew Type 150 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Track / Heading All Types Inflight Event / Encounter Other / Unknown |
Narrative:
Departing with one passenger in the co-pilot's seat; the cabin door popped open and startled the passenger and myself. I asked the tower for permission to make left traffic to land. I believe I told the controller at that time it was not an emergency. The controller cleared me to land on runway xxl. On downwind; the door opened further and the cabin noise increased dramatically. I was trying to reassure the passenger and fly the pattern while complying with the controller's clearance. I inadvertently landed on runway xxr. I only realized my mistake when the tower controller asked me to contact the ATC supervisor via telephone. I believe I landed on the wrong runway partially because of the noise and the confusion as well as spending too much time reassuring my passenger that the door would not open all the way. Also; runway xxr is much longer and wider than runway xxl; so I didn't even see runway xxl; I only focused on the bigger runway. In the future; I would make a point of paying better attention to the clearance and also ask for landing clearance verification on short final.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A BE58 cabin door popped open right after takeoff. The distracted pilot returned to land on the wrong runway because while dealing with open door he had to reassure the non pilot passenger in the right seat that the aircraft was flyable.
Narrative: Departing with one passenger in the co-pilot's seat; the cabin door popped open and startled the passenger and myself. I asked the Tower for permission to make left traffic to land. I believe I told the Controller at that time it was not an emergency. The Controller cleared me to land on Runway XXL. On downwind; the door opened further and the cabin noise increased dramatically. I was trying to reassure the passenger and fly the pattern while complying with the Controller's clearance. I inadvertently landed on Runway XXR. I only realized my mistake when the Tower Controller asked me to contact the ATC Supervisor via telephone. I believe I landed on the wrong runway partially because of the noise and the confusion as well as spending too much time reassuring my passenger that the door would not open all the way. Also; Runway XXR is much longer and wider than Runway XXL; so I didn't even see Runway XXL; I only focused on the bigger runway. In the future; I would make a point of paying better attention to the clearance and also ask for landing clearance verification on short final.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.