Both passenger door latches of a C162 failed after takeoff; allowing the door to fully open upward. ...

Narrative:

After a thorough preflight and takeoff run-up; pilot departed in clear conditions with no indication of problems. At nearly 900 ft; tower assigned pilot heading of 210 and transferred to departure frequency. Before contacting departure; while turning; the front latch of the passenger door unlatched and bent rearward. At this point; pilot returned to tower frequency and requested landing. Approximately 30 seconds after; the rear latch also became unlatched causing door to open upward to fully open position. Pilot was cleared to land and proceeded to land and taxi back to the FBO ramp without further complications. Upon further inspection; pilot noticed missing plexiglas from passenger window and door frame damage; but is unsure of exact phase of flight in which damage occurred. It is important to note that we have experienced similar situations where the door has opened during takeoff roll or shortly after takeoff in this type aircraft.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Both passenger door latches of a C162 failed after takeoff; allowing the door to fully open upward. At some point the Plexiglas window separated from the door. The aircraft returned to the airport.

Narrative: After a thorough preflight and takeoff run-up; pilot departed in clear conditions with no indication of problems. At nearly 900 FT; Tower assigned pilot heading of 210 and transferred to Departure frequency. Before contacting Departure; while turning; the front latch of the passenger door unlatched and bent rearward. At this point; pilot returned to Tower frequency and requested landing. Approximately 30 seconds after; the rear latch also became unlatched causing door to open upward to fully open position. Pilot was cleared to land and proceeded to land and taxi back to the FBO ramp without further complications. Upon further inspection; pilot noticed missing Plexiglas from passenger window and door frame damage; but is unsure of exact phase of flight in which damage occurred. It is important to note that we have experienced similar situations where the door has opened during takeoff roll or shortly after takeoff in this type aircraft.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 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.

Attributes
ACN	988048
Time
Date	201201
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Light Sport Aircraft
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Initial Climb
Flight Plan	None
Component
Aircraft Component	Exterior Pax/Crew Door
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Private
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 20 Flight Crew Total 150 Flight Crew Type 50
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

Both passenger door latches of a C162 failed after takeoff; allowing the door to fully open upward. At some point the plexiglas window separated from the door. The aircraft returned to the airport.