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| Date: | Monday 14 August 2023 |
| Time: | 19:50 |
| Type: |  de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 |
| Owner/operator: | Divi Divi Air |
| Registration: | PJ-DVF |
| MSN: | 601 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1978 |
| Engine model: | P&W Canada PT6A-27 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Incident |
| Location: | west of Curacao -
 Curaçao
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Aruba-Reina Beatrix Airport (AUA/TNCA) |
| Curaçao-Hato International Airport (CUR/TNCC) | |
| Investigating agency: | CCAA Curaçao |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Divi Divi Air flight 3R283, a DHC-6-300 Twin Otter, was on descent towards Curacao when the cockpit crew noticed the 'cabin door open light' illuminate. A few moments later still in descent, a faint noise was heard, the first officer looked to the back and noticed two passengers holding the passenger door. Shortly after the door was closed, the faint noise was gone, and the cabin door open light in the cockpit was out. The captain continued the flight that landed shortly after with the door closed and the door open light illumination light out.
Probable Cause
The probable cause of this incident is determined to be the ground crews and the flight crewmember’s failure to verify that the main cabin airstair door was securely locked before departure.
Contributing Factors
a. DDA procedure does not show that the flight crew, when boarding the aircraft as part of their responsibility, that they must verify the door handle and visually check through the security window, that the witness mark is indicating correctly verifying the passenger door is closed and locked.
According to Divi Divi Air General Operating Manual paragraph 9.2, DDA has opted for a separate Aircraft Handling Manual (AHM) in which several arrangements and procedures will be further detailed.
b. Inspection of the operation of the passenger door indicated that the passenger door can be closed, and the door handle moved approximately 30 degrees towards the locked position (Clockwise) will extinguish the Door Open caution light on annunciator in the cockpit without the door being closed and correctly secured.
c. The security witness mark windows were dirty, obstructing a clear view of the window locking mechanism.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://bes-reporter.com/cabin-door-incident-causes-considerable-fright-among-divi-divi-air-passengers/
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 12 May 1984 | N28SP | South Pacific Island Airways | 0 | Tau, Manu'a, HI |  |
sub |
| 23 April 2023 | PJ-DVF | Divi Divi Air | 0 | near Curaçao-Hato International Airport (CUR/TNCC) | |
non |
| Near miss | ||||||
| 13 August 2024 | PJ-DVF | Divi Divi Air | 0 | Aruba-Reina Beatrix Airport (AUA/TNCA) |  |
unk |
| Fumes/smoke/odor event | ||||||
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 21-Aug-2023 16:38 | harro | Added |
| 27-Aug-2023 10:55 | Nepa | Updated |
| 18-Mar-2025 18:01 | ASN | Updated [Narrative, Accident report, ] |
| 18-Mar-2025 18:04 | ASN | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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