Deadly Doors: Distractions Still Posing Threats to Pilots

Already in 2025, there have been four serious crashes in the U.S. where a door opened after takeoff.

Max Trescott

Wednesday, August 20, 2025 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

So if you find yourself needing to return to the airport with an open door, if possible, fly a standard traffic pattern. [Courtesy: Max Trescott]

Key Takeaways:

Unlatched aircraft doors after takeoff continue to be a significant and often fatal issue for general aviation pilots, with several recent crashes attributed to this seemingly minor problem.
Pilots commonly react to an open door by panicking, reducing airspeed, and attempting to return to the airport quickly by flying dangerously low and non-standard traffic patterns.
Flying at lower-than-normal traffic pattern altitudes leads pilots to misjudge their distance from the runway, resulting in turns that are too close, increasing the risk of overshooting and potential stall/spin accidents at unrecoverable altitudes.
The key takeaway for pilots is to adhere to standard operating procedures and maintain standard traffic pattern altitudes and distances, even when under stress, and to always ensure doors are properly secured before takeoff.

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A door pops open just after takeoff. It’s annoying, sure—but deadly? It shouldn’t be. Yet general aviation pilots continue to crash and die because of how they react to something as simple as an unlatched door.

In just the first few months of 2025, we’ve had four serious crashes in the U.S. where a pilot experienced a door or baggage door opening after takeoff and didn’t make it back. Three of the four crashes were fatal, and the fourth one resulted in burn injuries. So, while it’s easy to dismiss these kinds of accidents, they’re important because they continue to kill.