On July 29, 2006, about 1345 central daylight time, a de Havilland DHC 6 100, N203E, registered to Adventure Aviation, LLC, and operated by Skydive Quantum Leap as a local parachute operations flight, crashed into trees and terrain after takeoff from Sullivan Regional Airport, near Sullivan, Missouri. The pilot and five parachutists were killed, and two parachutists were seriously injured.
Category: City
According to the pilot of the Cessna 182A, he was returning to land after completing a skydiving drop. The descent, and the downwind and base legs of the traffic pattern were uneventful; however, after turning onto the final leg, the pilot attempted to add power, and the engine “cut out.”
The 568-hour commercial pilot was returning to a private airstrip for a night landing after releasing parachute jumpers. According to the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) the aircraft’s landing light was inoperative so in an attempt to identify the unlit grass runway, the pilot flew over the area several times to try to find the airstrip.
The airplane failed to gain altitude and settled into the ground during the takeoff initial climb. The firewall buckled during the ground contact. The pilot said that just after takeoff, the airspeed decreased to 60 knots and the airplane was 300 feet above ground level. He was unable to recover the airspeed and he touched down in a field.
The pilot reported that shortly after reaching an altitude of 400 feet agl after takeoff, the engine quit suddenly. He immediately pumped the throttle two times, and turned on the auxiliary fuel pump, but this did not restore engine power. He made a hard forced landing in an industrial park near the airport.
According to the pilot, she dropped her load of skydivers and was coming in for a landing. She “could see fog rolling in fast” and knew she “had to get…on the ground.” She “landed at a higher speed which is normally fine but because of the runway conditions, which were slick, [she] had minimal braking and ran out of runway.”
The Cessna 182, operating as a platform for skydiving operations, sustained substantial damage during a skydiving flight. The commercial pilot reported a skydiver’s reserve parachute accidentally deployed while the skydiver was getting established on the step before jumping from the airplane.
The airline transport certificated pilot with 10 skydiving passengers began a takeoff in a tailwheel-equipped and turboprop powered airplane on a CFR Part 91 skydiving flight. As the airplane started its climb, the pitch angle of the nose of the airplane increased until the airplane appeared to stall about 50 to 100 feet agl. It descended and impacted the runway in a left wing, nose low attitude.
The airplane took off with its third lift of skydivers for the day. The engine began to run roughly at rotation, and due to the speed of the airplane, and the lack of remaining runway, the pilot elected to continue the takeoff. The pilot initially turned toward a public roadway for a forced landing, but the airplane continued to climb under partial power, so he maneuvered back to the airport for a downwind landing on the runway.
The airplane lost engine power and collided with terrain during the forced landing. Prior to the second flight of the day the pilot fueled the airplane’s right wing with approximately 8 gallons of fuel, bringing the total fuel load for the flight to approximately 20 or 21 gallons. The operator of the skydiving operation said that he instructed his pilots to fuel the aircraft after each flight to 21 gallons for a load of 3 or 4 people, and to 19 gallons for a load of 2 people.
The purpose of the flight was for the second pilot to perform an evaluation of the first pilot, who was recently designated by the operator as a backup pilot. Following several successful flights with and without passengers, the pilots discussed single engine operations, and the first pilot reduced the right engine’s power to flight idle and feathered the propeller.
The parachute jump plane was substantially damaged when it collided with a parachutist on final approach for landing. The pilot was not able to maintain directional control and the airplane impacted trees and terrain near the airport. The pilot stated that he was on final approach for landing, when a parachutist “made a rapid descent and accelerated from behind [his] right wing.”
The pilot stated that after the 14 jumpers left the airplane at 13,500 feet, southwest of the airport, he started his descent to the northeast. He approached the airport from the northeast overflew the airport, and made a left turn to enter the downwind leg for runway 23. He saw some parachutes on the ground and some in the air.
The airplane departed about 1130, and the outside air temperature at 1145 was 39 degrees F. The outside air temperature at 0747 was 28 degrees F. The pilot did not preheat the engine, and had difficulty starting it. On the third attempt, the engine started. The pilot then taxied to the runway, performed a rolling run-up, and departed.
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 airplane had not been flown for about 5 years prior to the accident, and was undergoing maintenance in preparation of a ferry flight. A mechanic reported that he had asked the pilot to conduct some engine run-ups as close to full power as possible. The pilot taxied to runway 35, a 2,470 foot-long, 35 foot-wide, gravel and turf runway; where he performed two high speed engine run-ups.
During takeoff roll, the airplane’s right landing gear tire blew. The left wing raised up and the airplane drifted right. The pilot shut down the power. The pilot then stated that the right wheel caught the raised grass area on the edge of the runway. The airplane’s tail swung to the right and the right landing gear collapsed.
The pilot stated that after skydivers exited the aircraft, he began a descent from 10,500 feet msl in the direction of the airport. He stated that upon reaching 2000 feet msl, he enriched the mixture, and the engine lost power. He stated he elected to land on a nearby road. The airplane collided with a pick-up truck and departed the road to the right.
The pilot stated that while the first parachutist was climbing out on the airplanes strut, her pilot chute got caught on a safety belt resulting in the inadvertent deployment of her main parachute, which streamed back over the right horizontal stabilizer. The parachutist went under as the main parachute went over the top of the stabilizer.
The pilot told an FAA inspector that he had completed an air drop of skydivers at 14,000 feet and was returning to land. During the descent, the engine quit. The pilot initially thought it was due to carburetor ice, but then realized that he ran “out of fuel.” The pilot was forced to land the airplane short of the runway.
According to the pilot, after the four parachute jumpers exited the airplane, and as he maneuvered the airplane for a landing, the engine lost power. Initial efforts by the pilot to restore full power were unsuccessful, however as the pilot continued, the engine regained partial power. The pilot entered a straight approach for runway 18
After departure, at an altitude of approximately 500 feet agl, the 2,100-hour pilot reported the engine “lost most of its power output.” The pilot stated he applied carburetor heat and did not notice improvement. The pilot banked the airplane slightly to the right to avoid an approaching tree line and initiated an emergency landing to an open grass field.
After completing a flight with a load of skydivers, the pilot “dipped” the left tank and it indicated 15 gallons of fuel. He then flew another flight to 3,500 feet MSL and started his descent. The pilot reduced power to 1,600 rpm and 16 inches of manifold pressure, and applied full carburetor heat. As the aircraft was approaching pattern altitude, approximately 1,000 AGL, the engine quit without warning.