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.
Category: Severity
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.
The acft was on a sport parachute flt to carry 24 parachutists to 12,500′ over a drop zone (dz) for a mass jump. It was in a cargo configuration with no passenger seats, but it had 1 jump seat. There were 24 seat belts on the floor of the cargo area. Also, the cabin door had been removed & an unapproved step & 4 handholds were installed outside & forward of the cabin door for parachutists. The usual jump-run procedure was for the acft to be slowed to 95 to 100 kts, extend the gear & apch flaps & reduce power on the left eng. The jumpers remained in position without using seat belts until apchg the dz, then 2 moved outside the acft while others moved close to the doorway. The 1st jumpers were unaware of anyproblem, but saw the acft enter a steep bank, roll over & spiral nose down. 16 jumpers exited the acft, but 3 hit the stabilizer. The acft crashed in a near vertical dscnt. Investigation revealed the cg was behind the aft limit for takeoff & the jump. The elevator trim actuator was found in a position for full nose-up trim.
The purpose of the flt was to transport 3 student parachute jumpers. After the jumpers egressed, the plt & jumpmaster returned to the arpt. During the landing, the acft hit a ridge on the grass rwy & bounced in the air. The acft then touched down in a crab, slid sideways & the left main gear collapsed. According to the plt, the wind was from the northeast at 5 gusting 10 kts.
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.
After returning from a sport parachuting flt, the plt landed on rwy 3 with a 5-kt, right x-wind. He stated that the touchdown was normal, but when the tailwheel came down at aprx 40 kts, the acft started to turn to the left. He corrected with right rudder & brake, then the acft veered to the right. He then tried to correct back to the left, but the acft continued off the right side & came to rest in a ravine. After the accident, the plt reported a right brake malfunction. However, when he submitted an accident report, he indicated there was no mechanical failure or malfunction.
The parachute of one of the jumpers deployed prematurely. The shroud lines entangled in the right horizontal stabilizer & elevator. As the parachute inflated, the stabilizer was bent downward, & the elevator partially ripped from the trailing edge of the stabilizer. The jumper was liberated from the entanglement & safely landed using his reserve chute.The remaining jumpers exited the acft & the plt safely landed the acft.
The plt took off from a small arpt to reposition the acft on a road to pick up sky divers. During the landing, he lost control of the acft & it swerved off the road & hit a tree.
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.
While in flt on a parachute jumping mission, a fire erupted in the right eng area & a precautionary landing was made. An exam revealed that the float fulcrum screw, pn 13773, on the stromberg carburetor had backed out & allowed fuel to escape into the exhaust area. Reportedly, the screw had not been safety wired.
Three observers accompanied the aircrew & other passengers on a flt to transport skydivers aloft. Prior to the flt, all 3 of the observers were briefed not to exit the acft until the engines were secured. However, 1 of the 3 discussed the need to move a cessna 172 at the completion of the flt. After returning from the flt, the aircrew stopped the plane on the ramp. While the engines were still running, the occupant that wanted to move the cessna exited the acft. Unbeknown to him & the plt, the other 2 occupants also exited the acft. One of them walked into the arc of the left propeller & received a fatal head injury.
The aircraft was on a local flight involving a parachute jumping activity. In addition to the pilot, there were 12 parachutists and an observer on board. The pilot initiated his takeoff on runway 18. A witness stated that shortly after takeoff, the engine power was reduced to climb power, followed by the gear retraction. Reportedly, the aircraft had climbed to about 150 ft agl when the nose pitched up, th plane rolled to the left and then it crashed in a steep left bank, nose down attitude. An investigation revealed that the aircraft was loaded well beyond its maximum gross weight and aft cg limits. The amount of fuel on board was not verified, but even with no fuel, the plane would have been about 580 lbs over the maximum limit. With 100 gallons, the estimated gross weight would have been about 9939 lbs with the cg at about 121 inches. The maximum certificated gross weight was 8750 lbs with an aft cg limit of 117.6 inches. Extensive ground fire damage, but no preimpact, mechanical discrepancies evident.
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.
The pilot reported that he had 20 gal of fuel on board when he took off. He climbed to 10,000 ft for a parachute jump, then returned to the airport with an estimated 10 gal of fuel. During a downwind landing, he elected to go around. He said the engine lost power as he was climbing through about 75 ft agl. A forced landing was made in a small pasture. Initially, the mishap was reported as an incident. Before the aircraft was examined, wings had been removed and the aircraft and wings had been transported from the accident site. When examined, both wing tanks were empty, except a small amount of 100 low lead (blue) fuel was found in the right wing tank. Fluid taken from the lines to the left wing tanks had the appearance of automotive fuel. The owner reported that automotive fuel had previously been used. No fuel was found in the carburetor.
Prior to flt the spark plugs on both engs were replaced due to minor eng vibration & the landing gear retract system wiring repaired due to the gear not retracting electrically on a prior occasion. After takeoff the gear would not retract electrically & the passenger had to crank up the gear manually. After the parachute jump the plt shut down the left eng to isolate the vibration. He then started the left eng & feathered the right eng. Unable to unfeather the righteng he elected to land with full flaps & gear down after a straight-in approach. As he approached the threshold a c-150 taxied onto the rwy. The plt executed a go-around while trying to retract the flaps & gear electrically without results.The pax was attempting to retract the gear manually when the acft struck a tree. The plt stated he did not make his landing intentions known on unicom during the approach. No pre-impact descrepancies were found to preclude normal prop operation. Normal elect power is halved with one generation inoperative.
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 returning from a parachute jumping flight, the pilot elected to land on the 1800 ft grass runway. A 3000 ft asphalt runway was available, but he had been using the grass runway to avoid wear on the tires. There was a 30 ft powerline at the approach end of the grass runway and the sod was wet. The pilot reported that there was light rain and the wind was calm. Reportedly, the plane touched down about 200 ft from the approach end, but the pilot was unable to stop on the runway. The aircraft continued off the end and collided with brush and trees. The computed landing distance over a 50 ft obstacle on a hard runway was about 1500 ft.
The pilot started a downwind takeoff on runway 15 with 9 parachutists on board. The runway was unidirectional requiring takeoffs on runway 15 which sloped downhill. After beginning the takeoff roll, the pilot had difficulity in maintaining directional control and initiated abort procedures. Reportedly, the aircraft continued to veer to the right in spite of the use of hard left rudder and braking action. As the aircraft decelerated, it departed the right side of the runway, struck 3 fence posts, and collided with a parked stinson, n368c. The pilot reported that the parachutist occupying the copilot’s seat stated that he had placed his feet behind the rudder pedals shortly before takeoff.