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.
Category: C-182
The acft was on a parachute jumping mission. After climbing to 9000 ft msl, 4 sky divers jumped out & the plt began a descent back to the arpt. The acft was seen level at aprx 500 ft agl & in the aprx position for a downwind leg for a left pattern for runway 36. About 1/2 mi north of the normal turn point for the base leg, the acft began a steep descending left turn. Witnesses described a bank angle of 45 to 75 deg & a nose down attitude of 20 to 30 deg. One of the witnesses reported that the bank and descent angles then began to decrease, but at impact, the nose was still low & the bank angle was about 20 deg. Observers saw no indication of plt control movement before impact. An exam of the wreckage revealed no evidence of an inflt failure/malfunction. The plt’s wife said that onoccasions, he had experienced severe headaches, but never to an alarming point. She reported that he took only asprin for the headaches. Pathological & toxicological exams reflected no evidence of a preimpact incapactiating problem.
As the student jumper was getting out of the aircraft and onto the step in preparation for a parachute jump the pack tray prematurely opened and the canopy blossomed under the tail pulling the jumper into the horizontal stabilizer causing a cut on his left shin. About 15 inches of the right horizontal stabilizer and elevator were sheared by the jumper. The remainder was crumpled and deformed from mid-span outward. A witness stated that the only way this could happen was if the pilot had the yoke back and the tail low. In other premature openings the witness had been involved with, the parachute opened under the tail and the jumper also went under the tail clearing the aircraft structure in all cases.
Jumper’s parachute open prematurely pulling jumper into tail section bending horizontal stabilizer which in turn jammed the rudder. Plt could not flare acft during subsequent landing collapsing the main gear.
Witnesses observed the takeoff roll as being unusually long. The acft never climbed much above 100-200 ft agl, & struck trees 1/2 mi off the end of the rwy. The flaps were observed up during takeoff. Normal takeoff flap setting used by the club for carrying jumpers is 10 deg. The acft was 166 pounds over max gross weight & the cg was beyond the aft limit. The density altitude was approximately 2,000 ft. The plt had never flown a c-182 or a constant speed propeller equipped acft prior to his checkout with the parachute club the week before the accident. The day of the accident was the first time he had carried any jumpers. The plt had agreed to fly for the club for no compensation other than to build flt time.
After a normal skydiver drop, the pilot spiraled down for a normal landing on a 2000 ft gravel runway with a powerline at the approach end. The wind was reported as variable at 5 kts. The pilot reported that during the landing, the aircraft touched down on the first 1/3 of the runway and the brakes were applied. Reportedly, the braking action was marginal and the aircraft ran off the end of the runway. The aircraft then struck a ditch and the nose gear failed. Prior to the accident, the pilot was warned that the aircraft brakes were marginal. The density altitude was about 2400 ft.
The pilot had flown from eutaw to seale, al to participate in a parachute activity. Although the plane was equipped for parachuting, it was not used for that purpose on that trip. Before returning to eutaw, the pilot used a dipstick to check the fuel and estimated he had a sufficient amount remaining for the 1.1 hr return flight. He did not check the weather or refuel the aircraft. En route, he encountered clouds, darkness, and heavy rain showers. While deviating from his planned course, he lost track of his position and the fuel supply became low. He diverted to tuscaloosa, al, but ran out of fuel during his approach. The plane struck trees about 1/2 mile from the runway during a forced landing. No seat or seat belt was available for the passenger; however, the passenger received only minor injuries.
After completing the drop on a skydiving flight, the engine lost power during a power-off descent. The pilot reported that the carburetor heat was not used during the descent prior to the loss of power. However, the probability of weather conditions for carburetor ice was not verified. The aircraft struck a fence during an off-airport landing, before reaching the runway. The pilot reported that he took off with 10 gallons of fuel on board. The plane crashed about 15 minutes after takeoff. An examination of the engine revealed no malfunction or failure prior to the accident.
The pilot reported landing on a soft, slick runway at dusk after returning from a parachute jumping mission. The aircraft was landed off of the center of the runway and veered left in soft terrain. The nosewheel sank in mud as the plane crossed a shallow ditch and flipped over.
A climb was made to 10,000 ft on a skydiving flight. The pilot reported that after descending to 2000 ft, the engine began to lose power and run rough. He elected to make an off-airport landing in a field. Near the end of the landing roll, the nose gear sank into soft terrain, and the aircraft flipped over.