Cessna U206 N29173 accident near Butler, Missouri

Probable cause

The jumper’s unintentional deployment of his emergency parachute and subsequent impact with the airplane’s horizontal stabilizer.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that during a skydiving flight, the first jumper scraped his emergency parachute handle while moving toward the jump door. The jumper’s emergency parachute deployed out of the airplane and subsequently drug him into the horizontal stabilizer. The pilot stated that he heard a loud “bang” and focused on maintaining control of the airplane. After the remaining jumpers exited the airplane, the nose of the airplane “dropped straight down.” The pilot was able to release his seat restraints, open a cargo door and exit the airplane. The pilot noticed the airplane’s empennage was bent as it spiraled into a field. The pilot opened his emergency parachute and landed safely with the other jumpers. The first jumper sustained serious injuries. The airplane was destroyed when it impacted a field near the departure airport. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

According to the first jumper, his D-ring style emergency parachute handle (Figure 1) was unknowingly caught on something. While he was positioning himself to the aft door, still unaware of the handle being caught, the ripcord was pulled about 4 inches causing the emergency parachute to deploy and subsequently pulled him into the airplane’s empennage.

Figure 1. Emergency parachute deployment handle (circled in red)

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN24LA197 for the full record.