The non-instrument rated plt was on a flt to psn the acft for sky diving activities. As he was transiting the albany arpt radar svc area at 5500′, radio and radar ctc were lost. Subsequently, the acft crashed in a steep dive and was demolished by impact. Psnl in the area rprtd an ovc cond and estd the vis was at least 1 mi. Abt 12 mi ese, the 0750 albany wx was in part: 1200′ sct, 6000′ bkn. Vis 2 mi with fog. Low clouds at the rprtg stn had lifted by the time of the acdnt.
Category: Accident Type
The pic had been airborne in the lcl area to let parachute jumpers jump fm his acft. To lose alt quickly the pic performed a prolonged slip. On the final app the eng quit and alt was insufficient to reach the rwy for lndg. The off arpt lndg was unsuccessful. The pic stated that the poss cause of the acc was improper fuel flow resulting fm the slip and the abbormal attitude associated with it. It was also imcumbant upon the pic for a safe lndg to have selected the proper fuel posn by referring to the owner’s manual. The owner’s manual cautions abt proper fuel selector positioning. Fuel selector on ‘both’ is required for all but straight and level flt. The fuel selector was found posnd to ‘off’ during insp of the acft and 10 gal of fuel was found in the rt tank. No fuel was found in the left tank.
The plt was returning to the airport after transporting skydivers to altitude and while on final aprch he allowed the acft to stall & crash short of the rwy.
Both acft were operating in vfr conditions modified by slight haze, high overcast and low sun angle near airport. N6161m was performing lazy eight maneuvers in a normal practice area two miles east of airport; n8267q was in clockwise orbital descent for landing following a parachute jump plane. Radar data and witness informtion show that on east side of airport, n8267q deviated from orbit and proceeded southeast as n6161m completed north end of figure eight in right turn away from airport and proceeded south. Acft converged at about 30 degree closing angle with n6161m climbing and n8267q descending and collided at about 2500 ft agl.
Acft crashed immediately after takeoff on a flt to discharge jumpers over a drop zone located on the arpt. Witnesses stated that shortly after liftoff the acft entered a steep left bank estimated between 45 and 70 degs. After about 120 degs of turn the acft stalled and impacted the ground in about an 80 deg nose down attitude, with the left wing leading. Alt at the time the maneuver was attempted was aprx 125′ agl. Winds at the time of the accident were down the departure rwy at 10 kts gusting to 18 kts. One witness estimated the winds at 20 kts gusting to 25 kts. Research indicated that the acfts stall speed would have increased btw 40 and 100 percent during the turn depending on bank angle. The plt had a total of 3 hrs in this make and model of acft.
The plt stated the purpose of the flt was to drop parachute jumpers. The jumpers deplaned at 8500 ft msl and the plt reduced pwr for a descent and landing at the arpt of departure. He stated he did not apply carb heat during the entire descent and he entered the traffic pattern with reduced pwr.During final apch, he applied throttle but the eng would not respond, it would only run rough. The plt stated the acft was descending rapidly and it was obvious he would not be able to land on the arpt. He landed the acft in a plowed, muddy fld where it nosed over.
As the plt & 16 jumpers deptd on a skydiving flt, the eng lost pwr at aprx 300′ agl. The acft then banked steeply left, spiraled in a steep nose dwn attitude & crashed. An exam revealed fuel in the tanks was contaminated with wtr & foreign material with the appearance of brown algae. Milky fluid (aprx 65% jet fuel & 34% wtr) was fnd in the eng fuel control, as well as iron contaminants. Dark stringy material was fnd in the fuel filters. The acft had been refueled fm 55 gal drums which contained contaminated fuel. The drums were stored upright & rain water could leak thru the filler caps. N551cc had a history of fuel contamination which on occasions caused the fuel bypass indicator to display. Rprtdly, the stall warning circuit brkr had been disengaged on other occasions, so as not to startle the jumpers; however, due to dmg, its preimpact psn could not be verified. Acft was estd to be 370 lbs ovr its max wt lmt & 1′ fwd of the cg lmt. The9 pax seats had been rmvd to haul up to 18 jumpers. Pax seat belts were not used. Lack of faa surveillance was noted.
Shortly after the acft took off with 4 skydivers on board, its eng seized at an alt of about 300 to 400 ft. The plt selected the best available area to land which was a field of tall corn on rolling terrain. During the emerg landing, the acft nosed over. Later, the eng was disassembled & aprx 1 qt of finely ground ferreous material was found deposited in the lower oil pan. The main bearings were found scored & discolored, & the main bearing shells showed evidence of overheating. The connecting rods were also discolored from heat. The screen chamber of the oil pump was found full of ferrous metal which shut off the oil supply to the oil pump gears. The faa maint inspector who examined the eng stated that the ferrous material found in the eng & bottom pan was not from the eng. The source of the material was not determined.
The plt transported a load of skydivers to alt & was returning to the airstrip. During arrival, he decided to practice a simulated eng out landing. While on an apch with full flaps, the plt elected to slip the acft. As he was transitioning from a side slip to a normal landing attitude, the acft suddenly dropped, landed hard & bounced. The plt reported that on the 2nd touchdown, the nosewheel hub failed, the prop struck the rwy & the nose gear was bent.
The preflight, engine runup and initial takeoff were uneventful. At approx 600 ft agl the engine sputtered for two or three seconds then stopped. The pilot turned back toward the runway but was too low. He crash landed in a gravel quarry after clipping power lines. No engine abnormalities were noted during a subsequent engine teardown. The reason for the engine failure could not be determined. The operator believed that either the mixture control had backedoff during the climb ot that the parachutist in the front rt seat had inadvertently pulled the mixture off with a piece of her equipment during the climb, causing the power loss.
The aircraft’s left engine caught fire during the takeoff roll. The pilot managed to stop the aircraft on the runway and all 31 skydivers and the two member crew evacuated without injury. The left engine propeller had lost one blade which was found several days later 3000 feet west of the wreckage. There was no evidence found to substantiate compliance with a mandatory airworthiness directive on the propeller blade.
The plt reported that he preflighted the acft & decided there was sufficient fuel to haul skydivers on 2 more flts. On the 2nd flt, he had to make three passes instead of one. During the apch to the arpt, the eng lost power from fuel exhaustion. The plt tried to reach the rwy, but landed short on plowed terrain. The wheels dug into the plowed terrain, the nose gear collapsed & the acft nosed over. The plt had planned a fuel consumption rate of 12.1 gal/hr. However, the actual fuel consumption (after installation of a new eng) was 12.8 gal/hr.
Inadvertent opening of parachute in aircraft during climb to jump altitude pulled jumper from aircraft. Jumper struck right horizontal tail. Control of aircraft was lost and the pilot and the other three jumpers exited the aircraft, deployed their chutes and landed uninjured. The aircraft impacted the ground in a vertical or near vertical dive.
After discharging parachutists at 7500 ft msl the plt closed the throttle and descended to 1200 ft without clearing the engine. No pwr was available when the throttle was advanced upon reaching 1200 ft. A forced landing was made in a bean fld and the acft nosed over after contacting a rut. Environment and power conditions were conductive to carb ice.
The student plt flying n94560 was making her 1st solo touch and go landing when control of the acft was lost. Upon touchdown, n94560 veered left, departed the rwy and collided with n3854d which was being taxied on the grass aprx 20 ft from the rwy.
After dropping the parachutist, the acft was observed to fly eastward over the dz, make a left 180 turn, line up on the parked van on an easterly heading and descend to a low altiude. Witnesses estimated the altitude at from 10 t0 30 ft agl. The van was parked on a ridge across the flt path. The acft made a low alt-high speed run toward the van. Just before striking the van with the ldg gear, the acft seemed to duck under a low power line in its path.
The acft crashed after a loss of eng power occurred when the plt was returning from transporting sky divers to altitude for a jump. The plt reported he ran the rt fuel tank out of fuel & failed to switch tanks
The plt stated, he had departed the aero county airport, mckinney, tx, on a local flt to drop sky divers. He dropped the sky divers & was returning to the arpt when he encountered a loss of eng power & made a forced landing. He stated that he pulled on carburetor heat and was making his first power change when the eng stopped without warning.
A parachte became entangled in the horizontal stabilizer while the acft was maneuvering to drop the parachutists. The acft made a hard landing after the parachustist disengaged from the acft. The acft stabilizer spar was damaged in the encounter and the lack of elevator effectiveness affected the ability of the plt to properly flare the acft. The nose gear failed during the landing attempt. The cowling, prop and the fuselage was also damaged.
After discharging sky divers, plt was concentrating on max rate of descent, eng pwr at idle, when fuel tank in use ran day. Pwr loss not noted until throttle applied for level off. Switch to usable fuel tank and restart attempt initiated with insufficient remaining altitude for successful result. Forced landing executed on freeway off ramp.
The plt had returned from dropping skydivers & was landing on rwy 29 at sunset. He reported that during the flare to land, he was temporarily blinded by the sun. The acft landed hard & bounced back into the air. It then settled, veered off the rwy, hit piles of manure & nosed over.
The plt stated that during the initial application of power, the left eng backfired due to a possible too sudden application of power. He said that due to ‘inattention’ he let the acft ‘drift to the left side of the runway.’ just after the acft became airborne it ‘immediately started a roll to the left,’ and despite ‘full right aileron and rudder,’the left wing scraped the ground. He rejected the takeoff and the acft groundlooped. The purpose of the flt was to transport parachutists.
The acft lost part of one blade of the propeller during the climb to cruise phase of operation. The passengers were skydivers so they used their parachutes in an exit of the acft as the airframe started to vibrate. The plt made a successful landing on the arpt without power. All the jumpers landed safety. Visual examination of the propeller showed that the blade had separated 10 to 12 inches outboard from the blade root. The fracture exhibited evidence typical of high cycle fatigue and overload stress.
The acft collided with a truck while taking off but managed to stay airborne, fly a mission and return to a normal landing. The private plt was reportedly carrying 8 passengers for a parachute drop. He would not admit he was carrying passengers and none of the passengers would give a written statement. One of the jumpers stated that during takeoff the plt flew the acft to the left side of the rwy where the ground crew truck was parked. The tail wheel of the acft hit theroof of the truck. One of the jumpers said that the private plt was paid to fly them. The pilot’s assessment of the damage was loosened brackets on the tail wheel attachment. No one was reported as injured.
While descending toward the arpt, after 4 parachute jumpers had egressed, the eng loss all power. There was insufficient alt to glide to the arpt, so the plt elected to land in an area with rice paddies. As the acft touched down, it encountered a dike & nosed over, an exam revealed that some fuel was remaining in the fuel tanks. About 1 pint of fuel was drained from the fire wall fuel strainer. No water was found in the fuel sys. Aprx 25 mi south at merced, ca, the temp & dew point were 87 & 50 deg, respective. According to icg probability charts, carb ice would have been possible at glide power; however, icing was not verified.