Cessna 208 N9639F
7 December 2008 · Homestead, Florida, United States · Minor injuries
Summary
On 7 December 2008 at about 17:00 local time, a Cessna 208 registered N9639F, operated by Skydive Miami, was involved in an accident near Homestead, Florida, United States. 13 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 17:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Homestead, Florida, United States
- Nearest airport
- Homestead General (X51)
- Coordinates
- 25.4906, -80.5101
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208
- Registration
- N9639F
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Skydive Miami
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Skydiving
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Homestead → Homestead
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- ERA09CA082
People
1 person had minor injuries.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
Probable cause
The inadvertent deployment of the reserve parachute, resulting in the skydiver being prematurely pulled from the airplane and striking the horizontal stabilizer.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The flight was at 13,500 feet overhead the airport, preparing for the skydivers to jump. The pilot turned on the green light to initiate the jump. He then felt the aircraft shudder, but did not lose control of the airplane. After most of the jumpers had left the airplane, one of the skydivers came forward and notified the pilot of damage to the tail. After a controllability check, the pilot landed the airplane without further incident. Structural damage to the left horizontal stabilizer was found after the flight. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector reported that a skydiver was standing at the door of the airplane when his reserve chute inadvertently deployed, pulling the skydiver out of the airplane. The skydiver then struck the horizontal stabilizer after being pulled from the airplane. The FAA inspector found the parachute to have a current inspection; no anomalies were found.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Cessna 208 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Oct 2008 | Cessna 208B | Bethel, Alaska, United States | Grant Aviation Inc. | Minor injuries | - |
| 15 Jan 2008 | Cessna 208B | Bethel, Alaska, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 27 Dec 2008 | Cessna 208B | Rock Springs, Wyoming, United States | Corporate Air | No injuries | - |
| 10 May 2008 | Cessna 208B | Ada, Michigan, United States | CSA Air Inc | No injuries | - |
| 1 Jun 2008 | Cessna 208B | Greensburg, Indiana, United States | Skydive Greensburg | No injuries | - |
| 7 Jun 2008 | Cessna 208B | La Junta, Chile | Patagonia Airlines | Fatal | 1 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Mar 2008 | Cessna 182B | Wildwood, Florida, United States | Henry George Traill | Fatal | 2 |
| 15 Dec 2008 | Bell OH-58C | Osceola County, Florida, United States | Helicopter Applicators, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 13 Dec 2008 | Kimball PITTS MODEL-12 | Weirdales, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 16 Jun 2008 | McKeehan James F ACRODUSTER II SA750 | Panama City, Florida, United States | Kevin G. Gorham | Fatal | 1 |
| 6 May 2008 | Beechcraft 65-A90 | Titusville, Florida, United States | Titusville Drop Zone | No injuries | - |
| 29 Aug 2008 | Ercoupe (Eng & Research Corp ) 415-C | Sebring, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |