STRESS ON PLANE MAY HAVE LED TO FUSELAGE HOLE

A failed lock may have caused a United Airlines jumbo jet's cargo door to pop open at 22,000 feet, ripping a huge hole up the side of the plane and killing nine passengers, federal investigators say. Damage to the plane is consistent with the cargo door popping open under pressurization of the cabin as the jet gained altitude, and atmospheric pressure outside the aircraft declined, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Lee Dickinson said.

The Coast Guard, meanwhile, ended a sea and air search of the Pacific 100 miles southwest of Honolulu after recovering 57 pieces of debris from the United flight.