Door falls off small plane in midair in New York

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A small plane landed safely near the Buffalo, New York, airport on Monday evening after a door fell off the aircraft while it was in the air, a transportation authority spokesperson confirmed.

According to a Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority spokesperson, the small, non-commercial plane was able to land safely at the Signature Aviation terminal at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport.

A Federal Aviation Authority spokesperson said the plane, a single-engine Diamond DA40, lost its left rear passenger door and landed at around 5:30 p.m. The FAA will investigate the incident.

Cheektowaga police said the plane was carrying two people and that the pilot reported losing the door while flying over the area of Stiglmeier Park in Cheektowaga.

No injuries or property damage were reported.

On an audio recording from the pilot’s communications with air traffic controllers, a voice can be heard saying, “We have an emergency, we’re heading back.” When asked to confirm the nature of the emergency, the voice responds, “We lost our rear door.”

Police said officers searched the area but were unable to locate the door. Cheektowaga PD said the active search “has stopped for us at this time.”