Cessna 208 N895SF accident near Pepperell, Massachusetts

Probable cause

The pilot's loss of control when the airplane encountered a downdraft during landing approach, which resulted in a subsequent hard landing and gear collapse.

NTSB analysis

The commercial pilot, 10 skydivers, and 1 passenger departed on a skydiving flight. After the skydivers jumped, the pilot and passenger returned to the airport to land. The pilot stated that, during the landing, he encountered a sudden downdraft and the airplane dropped out of the air from about 10 to 15 ft above the runway. The airplane landed hard and the nose landing gear collapsed; the airplane slid to the right side of the runway, crossed the parallel runway, and impacted a tree. Examination of the airplane revealed that the left wing was bent up about 3 ft from the wing tip and the nose landing gear was fracture-separated. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Thus, it is likely that the pilot failed to maintain airplane control during the landing, which resulted in a hard landing.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA19TA278 for the full record.