B767 Taxiing with Aft Cargo Door Open
 

Watched a B767 taxiing this morning with the aft cargo door half open. The aircraft was repositioning to a proper stand.

Anyone know of a reason why they would need to do this?


Mutt.

Was it by chance UAL at LHR.I've seen this before. Never the Aft cargo door though, always the bulk cargo door. I guess if it was the cargo door, then the technician taxiing it didn't perform his checks properly. It shouldn't cause any problems though,as it's well clear of the jetblast.

I thought that at least for the 737 Boeing recommended that all doors be closed for towing/taxiing as the doors provide structural integrity

It wasnt UAL and not even close to LHR. I had put it down to poor completion of the checklist prior to taxi.


Mutt.

If it was only half open my guess would be that it had gone u/s and that it was decided to reposition the a/c to work on it???????

If it was the rear cargo door half open it would be hanging No2 engines jet eflux surely?. I can understand why the BULK cargo was left open as without steps you cannot reach up to close it and it opens inward anyway. Either way I personally would not want to taxi with any door open.

I quote from my notes when I did the type rating in 1992...........the aft/bulk and fwd cargo doors are an intergral part of the a/c structure..........towing the a/c (particularly in the case of tight turns) with these doors open can subject the a/c to tortional stresses which are beyond the initial design capability.

That said I have seen the a/c towed with doors 1 L and R open and cannot explain why this is also not mentioned in the notes.