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Photo of DA40 series aircraft from Diamond AircraftOn Monday evening a Diamond DA40 carrying two people lost a rear door while flying over a public park and was able to land safely. Officers have searched the surrounding area but the door is missing.
The Cheektowaga Police Department and Fire Dispatch received a call at 6:00 p.m. on Monday from the Buffalo International Airport (BUF). A DA40 was carrying two people when it reported losing a door while flying over Stiglmeier Park. According to WGRZ, the pilot told air traffic control they had an emergency and were headed back after losing the rear door. The plane landed safely near the Signature Aviation terminal after the midflight incident. The FAA is reportedly investigating to determine why the door fell off and discover any other safety concerns.
Officers have searched the area but have been unable to find the missing door. There has been no reported injury or property damage as a result of the incident. Officials are asking residents to call in with any information about where the door may have fallen. An investigation into the door incident is ongoing.
This is not the first door to fall out of a plane mid-flight this year. On Jan. 5 on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 in a Boeing 737 MAX 9 the door blew out at 16,000 feet. The plane landed safely at the airport with all 171 passengers and six crewmembers, but the incident sparked concern in the public eye. After the depressurization incident the FAA grounded the 737-9 and issued an emergency AD. In the weeks since, there have been numerous measures to ensure an incident like this does not happen again, including increased oversight, an investigation into Boeing production and halting production expansion.RELATED STORIES:Beechcraft C99 crashes near New Hampshire homeLatest on 737 MAX 9 Alaska Airlines emergency - aircraft had prior issues before panel ripped off mid-flight
On Jan. 26 an Ameriflight Beechcraft C99 Commuter crashed into the woods just 70 feet from a single-family home in Londonderry, New Hampshire and the plane door was recovered from a nearby yard. The NTSB prelim reports that the left side cockpit door/hatch was found in a yard about 10 miles north of the main wreckage and the portable ladder, which is secured to the fuselage under the cockpit door/hatch and was supposed to be stowed inside the cockpit before takeoff, was found outside and aft of the cockpit resting against the left engine nacelle.
At the time of publication, the Diamond DA40 door remains missing.