Summary
On December 07, 2008, a Cessna 208 (N9639F) was involved in an accident near Homestead, FL. The accident resulted in 1 minor injury, with 12 people uninjured out of 13 aboard. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this accident to be: The inadvertent deployment of the reserve parachute, resulting in the skydiver being prematurely pulled from the airplane and striking the horizontal stabilizer.
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.
This accident is documented in NTSB report ERA09CA082. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N9639F.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The inadvertent deployment of the reserve parachute, resulting in the skydiver being prematurely pulled from the airplane and striking the horizontal stabilizer.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
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.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# ERA09CA082