FORT MYERS, Fla. — For one Fort Myers furniture store, it wasn't the front doors flying open for a sale Wednesday morning, but instead a helicopter door landing on its roof.
Just before 10 a.m. at Leader Furniture Store along US-41, staff heard a loud boom. At first, they thought the sound came from a car hitting the store, but saw nothing. That’s when law enforcement showed up looking to access the roof.
Lee County Sheriff Deputies got to the roof with the help of the Iona-McGregor Fire Department to find a helicopter door. The FAA tells Fox 4 the door belongs to a privately owned 1982 Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm B-105 helicopter that was registered in Montana.
According to FlightAware, a flight tracking app, the helicopter took off at 9:51 a.m. from Page Field then crossed US-41 when the door fell off. It then landed back at Page Field minutes later at 9:53 a.m., traveling a total of three miles.
Luckily, the helicopter was able to return to Page Field with no damage from the door on the ground, and no injuries to the five people on board.
But how could something like this happen? Fox 4 asked Capt. Shem Malmquist, a current Boeing 777 pilot and visiting aviation safety instructor for Florida Institute of Technology.
"It's the kind of thing that really shouldn't happen. Doors pop open on light aircraft fairly commonly, but to have the door depart the airplane or the vehicle, in this case a helicopter, is obviously not something we want," said Capt. Malmquist.
Capt. Malmquist said investigators would likely start by looking at the maintenance records of the helicopter.
"I am looking at the design. We would of course retrieve the door. Look at both sides to really understand how it failed or if it failed,” said Capt. Malmquist. “Because some of these doors are designed to be quick-released."
And if all the maintenance was in order, Capt. Malmquist said they’ll likely go back to the helicopter’s manufacturer.
"They would want to ensure that the design was such that something like this was likely,” said Capt. Malmquist. “So, it is a several-prong approach. And the other thing of course is precluding any sort of operator error. Was it possible that the door wasn't latched correctly and if that wasn't checked? Or you have cases where passengers try to open a door."
Capt. Malmquist said a door could be opened because the helicopter isn't pressurized like a commercial aircraft is.
The FAA told Fox 4 they should have a preliminary incident report completed in the next day or so.
