Skydiving / Paratroopers

The pilot stated that after parachutists egressed from the airplane, he returned to the airport and found that he did not have a green down-and-locked indication for the left main landing gear. He stated that he executed emergency procedures and did two fly-bys over the runway. Ground personnel stated that the landing gear appeared to be down-and-locked. During the landing roll, the airplane began to slide side-ways, and the right main landing gear began to collapse and eventually separated from the airplane. The left main gear also collapsed as the airplane slid to a stop. After the accident, the upper torque knee on the left main landing gear was found broken. The failure mode of the upper torque knee was not determined.

The pilot was taking off with 10 jumpers onboard. At the rotation speed of 100 knots, he used elevator trim to rotate the airplane, but it did not lift off the runway. He continued moving the trim wheel violently to pitch the nose up, and attempted to pull back on the yoke, but the airplane collided with rising terrain off the end of the runway. A witness did not see any of the flight controls move during the pilot preflight inspection, and during the takeoff roll, he did not observe a nose up rotation of the airplane. The pilot reported that he removed a single pin control lock from the yoke during preflight. The Beech control lock consisted of two pins, two chains, and a U-shaped engine control lock. The pilot walked away from the wreckage after the accident. No control locks were found in the wreckage. However, the control column shaft exhibited distress signatures on the periphery of the hole where the control lock is installed. No other evidence was found of any other form of mechanical jamming, interference, or discontinuity with the flight controls. Investigators were unable to identify any potential source of interference, other than a control lock, that could have simultaneously jammed both pitch and roll control. According to the airplane's manufacturer, about 3 to 6 degree of trim would have been normal for the airplane's takeoff conditions.

The aircraft was dispatched at Hoogeveen Airport to perform local skydiving missions. While cruising at an altitude of 8,000 feet, both engines failed simultaneously. The crew ordered the skydivers to bail out and decided to return for an emergency landing. On final, the crew realized he could not make it and eventually completed an emergency landing in a potato field located about 500 metres short of runway. Both pilots escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The aircraft departed Rancagua-de la Independencia Airport on a local skydiving mission. During the takeoff roll, the captain noticed a unknown technical problem and abandoned the procedure. The aircraft went out of control, veered off runway and came to rest. A passenger was killed.

The airplane was loaded with 10 sport parachutists and one pilot. Later, investigators calculated that the maximum gross weight was exceeded by 149.6 pounds, and the center of gravity was 2.87 inches aft of the aft limit. The cabin door had been removed for parachuting operations; however, an altered Flight Manual Supplement had been used as authority for the door removal. The airplane was not on the FAA-approved eligible list for such removal. The airplane needed to be refueled before flight, but the quantity of fuel in the airport's underground storage tank was below the electric cutoff level. Fuel was pumped manually from the storage tank into plastic jugs, which were used to refuel the airplane. Before takeoff, samples of fuel were reported to have been drained from the airplane's fuel tanks (sumps). According to witnesses, they heard an engine misfiring during takeoff. They observed the airplane level off during the initial climb and start a shallow right turn. The bank angle gradually increased from shallow to steep as the nose dropped and the airplane descended. Other witnesses observed the airplane in a steep dive just before it crashed in the rear of a residence. One person in the residence was killed. A postaccident fire destroyed the accessory sections of both engines. Examination of the airplane disclosed evidence that the right engine had been shut down and the right propeller had been feathered; however, no preimpact mechanical failure was found. A sample of excess fuel was obtained from the tank that was used to refuel the airplane, but no observable quantity of water or contamination was found.

The single engine has completed a local skydiving mission and was returning to Spa-La Sauvenière Airport when, on final, it collided with a private Cessna 172 registered OO-SIW. Both aircraft went out of control and crashed near the airfield. While the pilot of the Cessna was killed, all three occupants on board the PC-6 were injured.

The twin engine aircraft departed Hohenems-Dornbirn Airport on a local skydiving mission, carrying 23 skydivers and one pilot. After takeoff from runway 05, while climbing to a height of about 50 metres, the pilot encountered difficulties to gain height and elected to make an emergency landing when the right wing struck a tree. The aircraft stalled and crashed in an open field located 500 metres from the runway end. Four occupants, including the pilot, were injured. All 20 other occupants escaped uninjured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The single engine aircraft was completing a local skydiving flight at Saransk-Lyambir Airport. After all skydivers jumped out, the crew returned to the airport. In unclear circumstances, the aircraft landed hard, bounced and came to rest upside down. Both pilots escaped uninjured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

At 1705 hrs, the aircraft took off from Cark Airfield with nine parachutists and the pilot on board. The parachutists left the aircraft at about 6,500 feet and the pilot started the descent to land. A low level, left-hand circuit to runway 24 was carried out, the surface wind was less than 5 knots from the south west. It was twilight, however, the sky to the west was still bright from the setting sun and the runway was visible; there was no runway lighting. The pilot had selected the red cockpit lighting to full intensity and both landing lights were on. At 50 feet on final approach the pilot had sufficient visual reference to continue the approach; the aircraft was aligned slightly to the right of the centerline, however, the pilot was able to correct this before touchdown. It was as the main wheels touched down that the pilot realized he no longer had adequate visual reference. Before he could take any corrective action the aircraft started to decelerate and contact was made with an obstruction on the left side. The nosewheel was still clear of the ground when the deceleration became rapid and the aircraft went through a fence, to the left of the runway, and came to rest against a pile of concrete rubble. The pilot who was wearing lap and diagonal upper torso restraint escaped without injury. Shortly afterwards, when he deemed it safe to do so, he returned to the aircraft to complete the shutdown drills. Two sheep were killed in the accident; the pilot recalled seeing a light area on the threshold, and initially thought that the aircraft may have struck the sheep as it touched down. In hindsight he considered that the aircraft probably struck the sheep after it left the runway, and that what he saw was a reflection from the landing light seen through a missed windscreen. He reported that the windscreen has misted up earlier on this flight and on previous flights; no demiser was fitted to the aircraft. He considered that this may have happened again and reduced the already marginal forward visibility.

The twin engine aircraft departed Empuriabravia Airfield on a local skydiving mission. After all skydivers jumped, the pilot returned to the airport. On final approach, the pilot encountered engine problems and initiated a go-around procedure when the aircraft lost height, struck trees and crashed short of runway threshold. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.