LifeFlight of Maine - Non-injury incident

DATE		7/7/02  EDT

PROGRAM		LifeFlight of Maine

VENDOR		Keystone Helicopters

ADDRESS
		Lewiston Base
		300 main St
		Lewiston, ME 04240

WEATHER		Clear. Not a factor

AIRCRAFT_TYPE	A109C-Max

TAIL#		N901CM

TEAM		Pilot, FN, FP. No injuries reported. Patient on 
		board.  

DESCRIPTION	In transition on approach to hospital, flight 
		medic noted movement in left medical crew 
		compartment door.  Pilot then noted door warning 
		light illumination.  Door lifted 2-3 inches and 
		paramedic was able to manually control door until 
		aircraft on ground.  Paramedic noted door latch 
		was in open position with door movement.  Flight 
		crew noted door had been closed from outside prior 
		to takeoff and had not been used during flight 
		which was 2nd flight of back to back transports.  
		Aircraft was taken out of service for inspection 
		of door latches and micro-switches for warning 
		lights. 

ADDITIONAL INFO	Latches and warning lights were found in working 
		order.  Mechanic made adjustment to increase 
		sensitivity of micro-switch and visual marks have 
		been placed on interior of door to note full latch 
		engagement in over center position.  Importance of 
		pre-takeoff and landing checklists have been 
		noted. 

SOURCE		Tom Judge, Exec. Dir, Lifeflight of Maine

VIA		Roseanne Krantz, CONCERN

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The CONCERN network shares verified information to alert medical
transport programs when an accident / incident has occurred.
Please share the above information with your program staff. If
you have further questions, please contact the CONCERN Coordinator,
Roseann Krantz @ 1-800-75-SHOCK or rjkrantz@aol.com.