Please help!! my upper door latch broke

Six pilotSix pilot
in General Discussion
The upper door latch on my 1978 Cherokee 6 broke! After closing the door and looking up to fasten the upper latch, I noticed that the latch handle was missing. I found it laying on the floor. The handle broke off at the neck or barrel that the handle screws into. (its a plastic barrel and it looks like it just cracked off. My question is how do I get a replacement and where?

Nick

Comments

  • flyguydonflyguydon
    Are they the same as PA28s?
  • bigandybigandy
    If it's the plastic latch that is held on by a machine screw - then according to my parts manual you might be looking for a:
    63039-00 (sometimes this is listed as 63039-000) 'HANDLE - Door, auxillary'

    I would be inclined to get a complete upper door latch assembly from a salvage yard such as Faeth Aircraft (Sacramento CA) or Air Salvage of Dallas (ASOD - based in Lancaster TX).

    Make sure you check in your parts manual to verify what I am listing - I looked this up in parts manual 753-689, pages 1E9 - 1E11, item 14

    BTW - this is a plastic handle with a square channel attached to the mechanism.

    Andy
  • larrysb2larrysb2
    What you need is called a "CAM Door Latch". It is plastic part that the inside and outside latch handles screw into. It has an arm on it that operates the door latching mechanism.
    I don't have the parts manual for your particular aircraft. A Piper Dealer can look it up by model and serial number. The part is fairly inexpensive and not all that hard to fix.

    Here's an example http://www.chaparralparts.com/servlet/the-933/63042-dsh-03-cam-door-latch/Detail
    It may or may not be the right one for your particular aircraft. You need the right parts manual to look it up.

    Changing it is not terribly difficult. The whole latch unit is taken out, and carefully disassembled, change out the cam and carefully put it back together. Re-install and adjust the door latch.
  • aerobuffetaerobuffet

    The top door latch on my Archer broke. Is this an airworthiness issue? I can't find anything in the regs (understandably) that address it directly but there is language that "hints" that if any system or part is not performing its intended function, that constitutes an airworthiness issue.

    I was already in the air when I discovered it was broken (my passenger didn't realize when they moved the latch that they were supposed to feel the "snap" as the cam latch engaged. Even with one loop in the pattern, the gap at the top of the door was 3/16". There was a fair amount of turbulence so I wonder about the impact on the door and the airframe when with that top latch broken.

    My A&P is looking at it today but is it legal to fly until parts arrive?

  • petericupapetericupa

    This happened to me last week! I was wondering about airworthiness as well and decided its better not to fly. I looked at purchasing the entire assemble (used) it was around $300 and they were old and beaten up. I purchased the OEM cam for around $118 through Aviationpartsinc.com in Fort Lauderdale. https://www.aviationpartsinc.com/product/63042-002-cam-door-latch/ not sure if this is the same model as yours but wasn't difficult to change out. Good Luck! I am not sure why they are made of plastic either.

  • aerobuffetaerobuffet

    I got lucky. My A&P texted me a short time ago to tell me it was fixed. I don't have the details but when i talk to him I'll post the solution in case others can benefit.

    The local FSDO responded to my email this morning only to gather more contact information and said that someone else who me in touch I'll post the summary of that conversation, too.

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