Ford recalls 280,000 US trucks on door handle defect

Ford has recalled more than 280,000 F-150 trucks in the United States due to a defect with its door handles, safety regulators said Thursday.

The automaker reported the problem after discovering that the interior door handle can fracture during normal use "resulting in insufficient spring force to return the handle to the fully stowed position," the National Highway Transportation Safety Board said in a statement.

"In the event of a side impact crash, the door handle spring can fail, causing the door latch to open."

Ford said there were no reports of accidents or injuries related to the defect.

The recall affects 2009 and 2010 model years of Ford's top-selling truck. Ford will begin repairing the defect at no cost on February 14.

mso/jm