Originally Posted by
ThreeIfByAir
And yet, both the door and the plug have roughly the same shape of frame -- and the frame is missing on the accident aircraft with at least the top four (out of twelve) bolts sheared off where it connects to the fuselage from the inside. Are those bolts the primary mechanism to keep the frame of the door/plug attached to the aircraft, or would you expect them to shear off?
The primary contact between the door/plug and the fuselage is by 12 pads (stop fitting and stop pad) that are each adjustable to ensure uniform contact. There are no retaining bolts in the stop fittings, only contact adjustment. The door must move vertically so each stop fitting is clear of the stop pad for the door/plug to open.
Where did you find any photo that shows the fuselage side stop pads are sheared off?