Accident Summary - continued

Investigation of the accident revealed that prior to takeoff, the cargo door was not properly latched and locked and the flight deck aft cargo door warning light went out prematurely because of a maladjusted warning switch.

Examination of the latch actuator revealed insufficient extension of the actuator shaft (277.5 mm versus 297 mm for full extension). This resulted in the torque tube not rotating far enough to move the latch hooks into the "over-center" position. Select here to see an illustration of this process.

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