Takeoff & Initial Climb · NTSB ERA10LA389
CESSNA A185F — Newfane, NY
| Date | August 1, 2010 |
| Location | Newfane, NY |
| Aircraft | CESSNA A185F |
| Purpose of flight | Skydiving |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Takeoff Miscellaneous/other |
| Pilot age | 68 |
| Pilot total time | 3,985 hrs · High time |
| Time in type | 559 hrs |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft structures-Doors-Passenger/crew doors-Not specified
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-(general)-Passenger - F
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained - C
- Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Attention-Pilot - C
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
What happened
The airplane was departing for a skydiving flight. During rotation, the jump door opened, which was located on the right side of the airplane. The pilot said that he was not concerned with the door, which would not have critically impacted the airplane's performance; however, an experienced parachutist attempted to secure the door to the point where he was partially outside of the airplane. The pilot attempted to stop the parachutist and became distracted, which resulted in the airplane veering left toward trees while flying at a low airspeed. The airplane subsequently struck a stand of trees and impacted the ground. The airplane came to rest inverted in a wooded area, with the roof of the cabin and empennage separated. Examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions and the pilot reported that the airplane performed as expected, without any mechanical issues. One of the occupants noted that the jump door was checked prior to takeoff and appeared to be secured. The jump door separated during the accident and was found in the latched position. The jump door and surrounding structure were distorted due to impact damage.