Cessna 208 N208KM
14 October 2016 · Dunnellon, Florida, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 14 October 2016 at about 21:35 local time, a Cessna 208 registered N208KM was involved in an accident near Dunnellon, Florida, United States. 11 people were on board and one died. 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 21:35
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Dunnellon, Florida, United States
- Nearest airport
- Marion County Airport (X35)
- Coordinates
- 29.0617, -82.3767
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208
- Registration
- N208KM
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1989
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Skydiving
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Dunnellon → Dunnellon
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- ERA17LA018
People
1 person died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Probable cause
The jumpmaster's failure to guard the reserve parachute ripcord, which caused an inadvertent deployment of his reserve parachute.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The airplane was at 1,250 ft above ground level carrying a load of skydivers. According to a skydiving instructor onboard the airplane, the jumpmaster leaned forward to assist a skydiver in exiting the airplane when the jumpmaster's reserve parachute inadvertently deployed and entered the airplane's slipstream. The jumpmaster attempted to pull the parachute back into the airplane but was pulled into the door frame and dragged out of the airplane. The jumpmaster, who appeared to be unconscious, descended to the ground beneath his streaming (unopened) reserve parachute without deploying his main parachute. The pilot maintained control of the airplane and landed safely. Examination of the jumpmaster's reserve parachute revealed that it was damaged by impact with the door frame, thus it did not deploy properly. It is likely that the jumpmaster failed to guard his reserve parachute ripcord, which was exposed on the front of his parachute, and the ripcord snagged on something as he attempted to assist the exiting skydiver, which caused the reserve parachute to deploy prematurely.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Cessna 208 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Apr 2016 | Cessna 208 | Tayoltita, Dgo, Mexico, Mexico | Aéreo Servicios Especializados S. A. de C. V. | Fatal | 3 |
| 31 Aug 2016 | Cessna 208 | Russian Mission, Alaska, United States | Hageland Aviation Services, Inc. | Fatal | 5 |
| 5 Jun 2016 | Cessna 208 | Fort Dodge, Iowa, United States | Multi Aero Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 20 Jul 2016 | Cessna 208 | Shanghai, China | Avic Joy General Aviation | Fatal | 5 |
| 21 Jul 2016 | Cessna 208B | Baldwin, Wisconsin, United States | Sky Dive Twin Cities | No injuries | - |
| 12 May 2016 | Cessna 208B | Acampo, California, United States | Parachute Center | Minor injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Dec 2016 | Beechcraft A36 | New Smyrna Beach, Florida, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 24 Aug 2016 | Heberlein Ronald VANS RV 9A | Sebring, Florida, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 18 Jan 2016 | Cessna 210 | Venice, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 21 Aug 2016 | Cessna 152 | Miami, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 23 Aug 2016 | Progressive Aerodyne SEAREY | Sebring, Florida, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 17 Dec 2016 | Beechcraft A36 | Ormond Beach, Florida, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |