On December 7, 2021, at 2124 eastern standard time, a Cessna 182 airplane, N5776B, was
destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Statesboro, Georgia. The commercial pilot
was fatally injured. The airplane was operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal
Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
According to a family member who spoke with the pilot the evening of the accident, she had
flown from Florida into the Statesboro-Bulloch County Airport (TBR), Statesboro, Georgia, for
a meeting in the local area and planned to return that night.
Category: Fatal Single-Engine
“On August 25, 2018, about 1400 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 182A, N4785D, was destroyed after a collision with terrain at East Georgia Regional Airport (SBO), Swainsboro, Georgia. The commercial pilot and three passengers were fatally injured, while one passenger was seriously injured. The airplane was operated by The Jumping Place Skydiving Center as a skydiving flight conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.”
The airplane was at 1,250 ft above ground level carrying a load of skydivers. According to a
skydiving instructor onboard the airplane, the jumpmaster leaned forward to assist a skydiver
in exiting the airplane when the jumpmaster’s reserve parachute inadvertently deployed and
entered the airplane’s slipstream. The jumpmaster attempted to pull the parachute back into
the airplane but was pulled into the door frame and dragged out of the airplane. The
jumpmaster, who appeared to be unconscious, descended to the ground beneath his streaming
(unopened) reserve parachute without deploying his main parachute. The pilot maintained
control of the airplane and landed safely. Examination of the jumpmaster’s reserve parachute
revealed that it was damaged by impact with the door frame, thus it did not deploy properly. It
is likely that the jumpmaster failed to guard his reserve parachute ripcord, which was exposed
on the front of his parachute, and the ripcord snagged on something as he attempted to assist
the exiting skydiver, which caused the reserve parachute to deploy prematurely.
The commercial pilot and four passenger-skydivers were departing in the airplane on a local area
skydiving flight in visual meteorological conditions. Witnesses observed the airplane make a normal
takeoff from the runway. Two witnesses reported that, shortly after takeoff, the engine seemed to stop
producing power. Subsequently, the airplane rolled to the right while rapidly losing altitude. The
airplane completed about a 360° rotation and impacted terrain in a nose-down attitude.
The commercial pilot was returning the airplane to the departure airport for landing after a skydiving
flight. Two witnesses reported observing the pilot fly the airplane over the runway; one witness said it
was about 50 ft above ground level (agl), and the other witness said it was about 100 ft agl. One of the
witnesses added that, when the airplane reached the end of the runway, it pitched up about 45 degrees,
gained about 200 ft of altitude, and then entered a turn with a 45-bank angle. The witness added that,
after the airplane had turned about 90 degrees to a westerly heading, its nose dropped, and the airplane
“immediately dove.” The airplane subsequently entered a left spin and rotated about 180 degrees before
impacting trees and then the ground. A second witness noted that the engine sounded like it was at “full
throttle” during the descent as if the pilot was attempting to recover from the dive.
Before departure for the positioning flight, the pilot was told that an observer/passenger would be
joining him for the flight. The airplane, which was typically used in skydiving operations, had its right
cabin door removed, and a fabric roll-up jump door had been installed; it was not closed during the
flight. The pilot reported that the passenger sat behind him on the right side of the airplane and that he
heard him attach his seatbelt. During the flight, the passenger moved forward in the cabin, which
resulted in the passenger’s reserve parachute inadvertently deploying and the passenger being pulled
through the open jump door. The passenger hit the doorframe, and the parachute became entangled with
the empennage, which resulted in a loss of airplane control and a subsequent aerodynamic stall. The
parachute eventually separated from the empennage, and the pilot was able to regain control of the
airplane and land it without further incident. A postaccident examination revealed that the passenger had
inadvertently attached his seatbelt to the handle that released the reserve parachute. Therefore, the
reserve parachute deployed when the passenger moved. The pilot did not conduct a safety briefing
before the flight; however, the improper routing of the seatbelt may not have been identified even if he
had conducted a safety briefing. Additionally, if the jump door had been closed, it is likely that the
passenger would not have been pulled out of the airplane.
The flight departed to the east with four skydivers for a local jump. One witness stated that, immediately following the takeoff, about 200 feet above ground level, a “percussive” pop from the engine was heard. Two witnesses stated that the right wing dropped, and the airplane impacted the ground.
The airplane was departing for a skydiving flight. During rotation, the jump door opened, which was located on the right side of the airplane. The pilot said that he was not concerned with the door, which would not have critically impacted the airplane’s performance; however, an experienced parachutist attempted to secure the door to the point where he was partially outside of the airplane.
The non-instrument rated private pilot planned to attend a skydiving event near the destination airport that began the next day. Prior to departure, the pilot was aware of the low clouds affecting the destination airport. The pilot told an acquaintance at the destination airport that he needed to make the flight that night because of deteriorating weather conditions that were expected on the next day.
Surviving skydivers said that as the airplane was climbing to the jump altitude of 10,500 feet agl, the stall warning horn sounded intermittently several times. They paid no particular attention to it because they had heard it on previous flights. When the airplane reached the jump altitude, the pilot signaled for one of the parachutists to open the door. When she did, she told the pilot that the airplane had overshot the drop zone by approximately 1 mile.
The pilot was returning a group of skydivers to their home base after a weekend of skydiving. He flew several jump flights, and then stopped early in the afternoon to prepare the airplane for the flight home. The flight was planned into an area of clouds, turbulence, and icing, which the pilot had researched. He delayed the departure until he decided that he could complete the planned flight under visual flight rules (VFR).
After preflighting the airplane, adding fuel and checking the oil, the pilot radioed that he was taxiing to runway 32. Witnesses subsequently observed the airplane takeoff on runway 32, make a 180-degree turn toward the south, and then fly downwind and parallel to the runway at an altitude of between 300 and 500 feet above ground level. At approximately the end of the runway the airplane was observed making a left turn onto base leg for runway 32, followed by a steep turn to final before nosing into the ground and bursting into flames.
The pilot did not perform weight and balance calculations for the accident flight; though, postaccident calculations indicated that the airplane was under gross weight and the center of gravity was within limits. The pilot reported that he did not have any memory of the accident flight. The accident flight was the second flight of the day for the pilot and began immediately after landing from the previous skydive drop flight.
The local parachuting flight was to depart from the airport owned and maintained by the pilot. During the initial climb after takeoff from runway 09, the airplane drifted right and struck trees about 500 feet down the runway. The pilot stated that he did not see the trees before hitting them. A passenger stated that the pilot did not make any changes to the airplane’s flight path prior to impact with the trees.
The airplane entered an inverted spin during a skydiving operation when a parachutist’s parachute deployed while exiting the airplane at 10,500 feet mean sea level. The parachute became entangled around the right hand landing gear and the parachutist could not be freed. The pilot, who was wearing a parachute, and the remaining parachutists jumped from the airplane.
The 363-hour single-engine commercial rated pilot lost control of the airplane during a parachute activity flight. The airplane subsequently stalled and entered a spin to the left. A witness radioed the pilot and asked what was wrong, and the pilot replied that he was in a spin and didn’t know what to do.
Witnesses observed the airplane depart to the north, and experience a partial loss of power during the takeoff climb. The airplane then began a turn to the left, and initiated what appeared to be a right base entry for a landing on runway 20. The airplane continued the turn, past 270 degrees, and as it flew beyond the end of the runway, the engine appeared to regain power and the airplane began a climb.
The pilot departed with three passengers and three dogs, but only two seats. The airplane had been reconfigured (STC SA00352DE) for parachute jumping operations. The STC included the stipulation that the airplane could be used only for parachutist launching operations. Also, Title 14 CFR Part 91.107, (a)(3), states that each occupant of a civil aircraft must be provided with an approved seat [the fatally injured passenger was not] with seat belt, for movement on the surface, takeoff, and landing operations.
A US Army Pilatus UV-20A collided in midair with a Cessna 182C during parachute jumping operations. The collision occurred about 4,800 feet msl (2,800 feet agl) on the northeast side of runway 12 abeam the approach end. Both aircraft had made multiple flights taking jumpers aloft prior to the accident. The Pilatus departed runway 12 about 5 minutes prior to the Cessna’s departure on the same runway.
A US Army Pilatus UV-20A collided in midair with a Cessna 182C during parachute jumping operations. The collision occurred about 4,800 feet mean sea level (msl) (2,800 feet above ground level (agl)) on the northeast side of runway 12 abeam the approach end. Both aircraft had made multiple flights taking jumpers aloft prior to the accident. The Pilatus departed runway 12 about 5 minutes prior to the Cessna’s departure on the same runway.
Witnesses reported that the single-engine airplane’s takeoff and climb appeared to be normal. As the airplane climbed through 400 feet, a puff of black smoke was observed emanating from the right side of the engine compartment. The airplane nosed up slightly, then nosed down turning about 360 degrees before descending rapidly from view.
The aircraft was being flown to the Aero Park Airport in Menominee Falls, Wisconsin, after having been used for parachute activity at the East Troy Municipal airport. The aircraft collided with power lines 110 feet above the ground and subsequently impacted the ground 0.25 statute miles east-northeast of the approach end of runway 23.
The airplane quickly became airborne and started an extremely steep climb for several hundred feet, which was followed by an equally steep descent until the airplane collided with terrain. The airplane had just completed one jump flight, and a different pilot fueled the airplane in preparation for the accident flight. The airplane was configured with one seat on the left side for the pilot and a 2-inch pad with seat belts for up to four skydivers.
The airplane departed on a parachuting flight with 5 parachutists on board. Several witnesses reported hearing the airplane during climb out. Each witness described smooth engine noise, brief ‘sputtering,’ and then a total loss of engine power. The airplane descended straight ahead at the same pitch attitude, then the nose dropped, a parachutist exited, and the airplane entered a spiraling descent.
According to the FAA, the skydiver was standing on the strut preparing to jump when his pilot parachute opened and wrapped around the tail section of the airplane.