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Baggage door egress

Mconner7

Mconner7

Well Known Member
All the talk about ditching and rollovers has me wondering if it is practical to install a latch on the inside of the baggage door in case the plane is sitting on its doors?

Anyone done this?
 
Although I have not tried this, my guess is that one well placed kick/stomp from the inside will bend it enough to open. Alternatively, don?t cover the lock access hole. Then you can reach in and open it.
 
Can the locking tab be rotated without the key inserted? Having climbed into the baggage area I know it would be difficult to have legroom to kick much even if there was no baggage.
 
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I would think getting to the baggage area from the front seat after a successful ditching would be exceedingly difficult even in the best of circumstances. I’ve never had aircraft roll over training (like what Naval aviators do) but I did combat vehicle rollover training when I deployed to Iraq and the stress and disorientation is impossible to understand unless you do it, not to mention the ditching will be physically violent and you will be momentarily stunned if not injured. I’m thinking a better option might be to unlatch the door prior to touchdown or to have a tool that can knock out the window.
 
BobTurner said:
Although I have not tried this, my guess is that one well placed kick/stomp from the inside will bend it enough to open. Alternatively, don?t cover the lock access hole. Then you can reach in and open it.
Click to expand...

I agree. A kick or a push on the door from the inside and it would open. There's also the side windows, front and back, that could be broken with the right tool.
 
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