Cessna A185F N4976E

Summary

On 1 August 2010 at about 18:20 local time, a Cessna A185F registered N4976E, operated by Frontier Skydivers, was involved in an accident near Newfane, New York, United States. 6 people were on board and one died, 5 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 August 2010 at 18:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Newfane, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Hollands International (85N)

Coordinates

43.2528, -78.7683

Aircraft

Cessna A185F

Registration

N4976E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Frontier Skydivers

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Skydiving

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Newfane → Newfane

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA10LA389

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control due to his diverted attention, which resulted in a collision with trees during the initial climb after takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the passenger's attempt to secure the jump door after it opened during takeoff.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was departing for a skydiving flight. During rotation, the jump door opened, which was located on the right side of the airplane. The pilot said that he was not concerned with the door, which would not have critically impacted the airplane's performance; however, an experienced parachutist attempted to secure the door to the point where he was partially outside of the airplane. The pilot attempted to stop the parachutist and became distracted, which resulted in the airplane veering left toward trees while flying at a low airspeed. The airplane subsequently struck a stand of trees and impacted the ground. The airplane came to rest inverted in a wooded area, with the roof of the cabin and empennage separated. Examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions and the pilot reported that the airplane performed as expected, without any mechanical issues. One of the occupants noted that the jump door was checked prior to takeoff and appeared to be secured. The jump door separated during the accident and was found in the latched position. The jump door and surrounding structure were distorted due to impact damage.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.