N70520

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn November 2, 2013, about 1750 central daylight time, a Cessna 182L, N70520, was destroyed when it was struck by a Cessna 185F, N94059, during a formation skydiving flight near Superior, Wisconsin, and subsequently had an in-flight breakup. The four skydivers and the pilot in the Cessna 182L jumped free of the airplane and deployed their parachutes. The pilot received minor injuries and the four skydivers were not injured. The Cessna 185F sustained substantial damage during the collision, but the pilot was able to maintain control of the airplane and land at the Richard I. Bong Airport (SUW), Superior, Wisconsin. The five skydivers in the Cessna 185F jumped free of the airplane during the collision and deployed their parachutes. One parachutist received serious injuries and four parachutists received minor injuries. Both airplanes were registered to a private individual and operated by Skydive Superior under the provisions of the 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 and Part 105 as a formation skydiving flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. A flight plan was not filed; however, the flight was in contact with the Duluth Approach Control. Both airplanes departed SUW about 1720.

Both pilots had flown about seven jump flights before the formation flight, which was to be the last of the day. The pilots stated that they briefed the formation flight before departure along with the skydive operator's designated chief pilot. The C-182 was the lead airplane and the C-185 was to be the trail airplane since it had more power to maneuver. The C-185 had two radios installed in it so that pilot made the radio calls to the Duluth Approach Control. All calls between the airplanes were made on the Unicom frequency, 122.7. The pilot of the C-182 was to make the call outs for "door open," jumpers "climbing out," and "jumpers away." The C-182 pilot reported that it was briefed that the C-185 was to maintain separation on the left side and 20 to 30 feet aft the C-182, at an altitude at or below that of the C-182 until it reached the jump altitude and through the time of the jump. After the jump was completed, the C-182 was to make a descending right turn to the northeast, and the C-185 was to make a descending left turn to the southwest. If the C-185 pilot lost sight of the lead airplane at any time during the flight, he was to break off the flight and maintain separation from the C-182.

Both airplanes departed from runway 32 and climbed at 90 mph using a rectangular pattern until they reached the jump altitude of 12,700 feet above mean sea level. The C-182 pilot established a heading of 330 degree magnetic and visually confirmed that the C-185 was to the left side and aft of the C-182. The C-182 pilot called out "door open" and jumpers "climbing out." The four skydivers on board the C-182 climbed out onto the right wing strut and right wheel step of the airplane. Almost immediately afterward, the C-182 was struck by the C-185. The C-182's windshield was shattered and the airplane went into an uncontrollable descent. The right wing separated from the airplane and the right wing fuel tank exploded. The C-182 pilot stated that the flight controls were unresponsive and the airplane appeared to be in a flat counterclockwise spin. The C-182 pilot exited the airplane and parachuted safely to the ground. All nine skydivers safely parachuted to the ground.

The C-185 pilot reported that, "When it was time for the skydivers to climb out, the two planes began to drift together and in seemingly no time at all, the two were colliding. The bottom of the 185 and the top of the 182 met." After the collision, the skydivers jumped free of the C-185 as it went inverted. The pilot was able to recover the airplane and land at SUW. The C-185 pilot reported that he had forgotten to wear a parachute during the formation flight, but had worn it for the earlier flights.

Five of the skydivers had video cameras attached to their helmets during the jump and recorded the collision and subsequent skydive. The cameras worn by the skydivers in the C-185 showed the five skydivers preparing to exit the airplane with the door open. The C-182 can be seen to the right of the C-185, but at a lower altitude and on about a 45 degree bearing. When the chief pilot climbed onto the strut, the C-185 was still aft and slightly higher than the C-182. The video images showed that the chief pilot climbed in front of the strut as the second jumper climbed onto the step. Much of the lateral separation between the airplanes was lost by this time and the C-185 was visibly higher than the C-182. The two airplanes continued to get closer together with the C-185 almost abeam and higher than the C-182. The video images showed the two airplanes colliding and the two skydivers getting wedged between the C-185's strut and wing and the top of the C-182's wing and cabin. As the airplanes began to separate, the skydivers were falling away from the airplane as the C-182's right wing's fuel tank exploded. All the skydivers jumped free of the airplane. The video images showed the skydivers free falling as the C-182 descended out of control with its separated right wing on fire and the C-185 inverted. The video images showed the skydivers landing safely at the landing zone, and the C-185 landing safely back at SUW. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe C-182 pilot held a commercial certificate with a single-engine land rating and an airplane instrument rating. He held a first-class medical certificate with no waivers that was issued on December 19, 2012. He had 428 total flight hours with 65 hours in make and model.

He reported that he learned to fly skydivers at another skydiving operation. He received training from a pilot at that operator who provided 5 to 6 training flights. He flew 5 to 6 flights as the lead airplane, and then he moved to the trail airplane. The instructor provided training for about 3 flights as the trail airplane. The pilot reported that he felt comfortable flying formation and that he liked flying in the trail position.

He described the trail position as being about 20 to 30 feet from the lead – close enough to read the N-number at a 45 degree bearing. He stated that the trail airplane should be lower than the lead, because it provides a better field of vision.

He started flying at Superior Skydiving in July of 2013. He did not receive any training at Superior Skydiving because they were aware that he was experienced flying skydivers, and that he had experience flying formation for skydive operations. His first formation flight at Superior Skydiving was on the day of the accident.

The C-185 pilot held a commercial certificate with a single-engine land rating and an airplane instrument rating. He held a second-class medical certificate with no waivers that was issued on November 5, 2012. He had 535 total flight hours with 72 hours in make and model.

He started flying at Superior Skydiving in March of 2012; however, due to military commitments, he did not fly for much of the 2012 jump season. He started flying regularly again in the spring of 2013.

The C-185 pilot reported that he had flown several formation flights, but most of the time he was the lead airplane. He stated that the chief pilot usually flew the trail airplane since he had more experience. He stated that during the accident flight, he flew the trail airplane and planned to remain positioned 1 to 2 airplane lengths behind the C-182 and attempt to be at the same altitude. Prior to the door opening, he thought they were exactly where they were supposed to be. After the jump door was opened, he thought they were slightly higher than the C-182.

The chief pilot held a commercial certificate with single-engine and multi-engine land ratings with an airplane instrument rating. He also held a current certified flight instructor certificate with airplane single-engine and airplane instrument ratings. He had over 2,200 hours of flight time with much of it accrued as a pilot for skydiving operations. He reported that he started sport skydiving when he was 18 years-old and started flying when he was 28 years-old. He flew for numerous skydiving operations, but when he was hired at Superior Skydiving in January of 2010, he primarily provided skydiving instruction, although he would also fly jump flights and provide flight training for skydiving operations as required.

According to the chief pilot, the C-185 pilot initially flew 100-hours in the C-182, and then started flying the C-185 since he already had his tailwheel endorsement. He was the only pilot who the chief pilot would allow to fly the C-185. He flew the C-185 throughout the jump season. The chief pilot considered the C-185 pilot as being a very competent pilot. The chief pilot reported that he did not train the C-185 pilot to fly formation. The C-185 pilot did fly formation flights at Superior Skydiving; however, it is unknown how many formation flights he flew as lead airplane and how many he flew as the trailing airplane. The operator did not keep training records for the pilots, so it remains uncertain how much experience the C-185 pilot had flying formation with skydivers on board.

According to the chief pilot, new pilots did not initially fly with skydivers on board. He estimated that it took 10 hours of training before they were allowed to carry skydivers without supervision. The 10 hours of training included: 1) operation of the modified airplane door 2) aircraft performance with jumpers "on step" 3) establishing a stable climb speed 4) returning to the airport with a full load of skydivers still on board. Once the chief pilot felt comfortable with the pilot's performance, he would supervise an actual jump flight, where he stayed on board and observed the pilot's actions. If that flight was satisfactory, he would schedule another flight where he would go up with the pilot, but ...