Buckeye BREEZE LX N300DN

Summary

On 10 June 2011 at about 20:30 local time, a Buckeye BREEZE LX registered N300DN was involved in an accident near Montague, California, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 June 2011 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Montague, California, United States

Coordinates

41.9703, -122.2756

Aircraft

Buckeye BREEZE LX

Registration

N300DN

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Montague → Montague

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR11LA275

1 person was seriously injured.

The unintended capture of the parachute bridle on a portion of the airframe during the takeoff roll, which resulted in a misinflated or misaligned parachute and an in-flight loss of control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The owner/pilot took off in the special light-sport powered parachute, and the aircraft immediately started to veer to the left. The pilot responded by pulling on the right steering line. The flightpath was corrected, but the aircraft did not "feel right" to the pilot, and he began a right turn for a landing. As the aircraft turned crosswind, at an altitude of about 50 feet above a lake, it pitched up and fell backward into the lake, where it sank to the bottom. The pilot was able to free himself, despite serious injuries. The pilot reported that, at an unspecified date before the accident, he replaced the bridle with a different design than the original. During a flight after the bridle change but before the accident flight, the new bridle became caught on part of the airframe. The pilot was able to reach back to free the bridle and avoid a loss of control. Neither the bridle nor the airframe was modified in the period between the earlier event and the accident flight. Because the bridle and suspension cables significantly change their angles and positions relative to the chassis as the parachute inflates during the takeoff roll, it is critical that the design precludes the possibility for any cable to get caught on the airframe during that process; such capture could result in a misinflated or misaligned parachute, rendering control difficult or impossible. Neither the aircraft nor the bridle was examined after the accident, and the pilot did not provide detailed information regarding the design of the bridle or airframe structure. Therefore, although information provided by the pilot suggests that the bridle again caught on the airframe, the specific reason(s) for the capture could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.