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Passenger door detaches from plane en route from Eek to Bethel

Grant Aviation planes at Bethel's airport in 2020.
Katie Baldwin Basile
/
KYUK
Grant Aviation planes at Bethel's airport in 2020.

A pilot and five passengers aboard a Grant Aviation airplane have not reported any injuries after the plane lost its rear door while flying from Eek to Bethel on the evening of Saturday, Feb. 28.

The left passenger door of the Gippsland GA-8 became unlatched and separated from the airplane roughly 5 minutes from Bethel, according to a statement shared by the company on March 3. The flight from Eek to Bethel takes around 30 minutes.

In the statement, Grant Aviation’s vice president of commercial operations, Dan Knesek, confirmed that the plane was able to safely land in Bethel and that the company was still investigating what caused the accident.

National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson Clint Johnson said on March 3 that the agency is monitoring the situation and has not gotten reports of injuries or damage to the aircraft other than the loss of the door.

Evan Erickson is KYUK's news director. He has previously worked as a copy editor, audio engineer and freelance journalist.
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