A passenger door fell off a private plane taking off from Monterey Regional Airport onto the roof of nearby motel, but wasn't discovered for 17 hours.
"Every hour we didn't hear we felt better that it didn't hit someone or cause injuries," airport general manager Thomas Greer said Friday.
The estimated 75-pound door plummeted about 1,000 feet before crashing into the roof of a rear, second-story building at the El Castell Motel at North Fremont Street and Casa Verde Way. The crash site was less than a block from the Monterey County fairgrounds.
A workman at the motel spotted the door on the roof about 8 a.m. Friday, and motel staff called police and airport officials. Firefighters managed to get the door off the roof without using heavy equipment.
"We were able to maneuver it to the ladder ... and walk it down slowly," said Monterey fire Capt. Fred McAlister.
Motel manager A. J. Panchel said the room below where the door crashed was unoccupied at the time. "No one heard anything," he said.
The door came off a privately owned Beechcraft King Air — a widely used twin-turboprop plane — being flown by the owner, Greer said.
The pilot had just taken off about 3 p.m. Thursday, climbing to about 1,000 feet and starting to make a turn when he heard "the door loose and a big noise."
The pilot returned to the airport, but didn't realize the door had come off until after landing, Greer said.
Airport officials contacted federal aviation officials. They will oversee the investigation of why the passenger door, which is located toward the rear of the plane, came off.
Such things are rare, Greer said.
In his 43-year aviation career, he said, "I've had only two other incidents where things have fallen off (a plane)."
On Thursday afternoon, airport officials checked at the fairgrounds and nearby Monterey Pines golf course, and alerted officials with the parks and Coast Guard to be on the lookout for the plane's door, Greer said.
"We didn't get a call until (Friday) morning," he said. "We are very grateful it only caused some property damage," he said. "Can you imagine being in the room?"
The door damaged about a 10-square-foot section of the roof, breaking tile and sheeting, McAlister said.
By late Friday morning, pigeons sat next to the damaged roof section, taking in the sunshine. They, too, — or their colleagues — escaped harm when the plane door crashed beside their perch.
Story, video and photo: http://www.montereyherald.com
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