Cessna 206 N2070K

Summary

On 16 August 2013 at about 22:30 local time, a Cessna 206 registered N2070K, operated by Sky Dive Iowa Inc, was involved in an accident near Brooklyn, Iowa, United States. 2 people were on board and one died. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 August 2013 at 22:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Brooklyn, Iowa, United States

Coordinates

41.7456, -92.4092

Aircraft

Cessna 206

Registration

N2070K

Category

Airplane

Year built

1964

Engines

1

Operator

Sky Dive Iowa Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Brooklyn → Grinnell

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13LA500

1 person died.

The improper routing of the seatbelt, which resulted in the inadvertent deployment of the reserve parachute, and the open jump door, which allowed the passenger to be pulled from the airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Before departure for the positioning flight, the pilot was told that an observer/passenger would be joining him for the flight. The airplane, which was typically used in skydiving operations, had its right cabin door removed, and a fabric roll-up jump door had been installed; it was not closed during the flight. The pilot reported that the passenger sat behind him on the right side of the airplane and that he heard him attach his seatbelt. During the flight, the passenger moved forward in the cabin, which resulted in the passenger's reserve parachute inadvertently deploying and the passenger being pulled through the open jump door. The passenger hit the doorframe, and the parachute became entangled with the empennage, which resulted in a loss of airplane control and a subsequent aerodynamic stall. The parachute eventually separated from the empennage, and the pilot was able to regain control of the airplane and land it without further incident. A postaccident examination revealed that the passenger had inadvertently attached his seatbelt to the handle that released the reserve parachute. Therefore, the reserve parachute deployed when the passenger moved. The pilot did not conduct a safety briefing before the flight; however, the improper routing of the seatbelt may not have been identified even if he had conducted a safety briefing. Additionally, if the jump door had been closed, it is likely that the passenger would not have been pulled out of the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.