Skydiving / Paratroopers

On the afternoon of the 19th of June 2016 a Pilatus PC-6 aircraft, German registration DFSCB, took off from the airfield of Figueira dos Cavaleiros (LPFC) for its 17th launch of skydivers that day. On this flight there were 8 persons on board: 1 pilot, 5 skydivers and 2 passengers that were jumping in tandem with two of the skydivers. The meteorology featured a day with clear sky, the wind blew from 040° with 10 kt and the air temperature was around 32° C. The Pilatus took off for a local skydiving training flight and started a climb to an altitude of 14.500 ft. During the initial climb at a rate of 1.000 feet per minute, when crossing 7.000 feet above mean sea level, according to some of the skydivers in the group, a sound similar to the cracking/ripping of a metal structure was heard, and simultaneously the aircraft pitched up to a high nose-up attitude while yawing to the right, causing a severe flight instability. Suddenly, the entire rear fuselage structure disintegrated. According to the reports, some occupants were pushed against the structure of the aircraft before they were thrown outside. During the following seconds the skydivers who did not suffer serious injuries, managed to jump out of the plane and triggered their parachutes. Two of them were seriously injured before leaving the aircraft, their emergency parachutes being automatically deployed by the barometric opening mechanism. As a result, the disintegration of the remaining aircraft parts continued until the impact with the ground. Fragments of the aircraft parts were found over a length of approximately 1.500 meters and a width of about 500 meters and were widely dispersed, with an alignment with the direction of flight from west to east. The pilot was thrown out of the remains of the cockpit and hit the ground at about 400 meters from the impact site of the cabin. He did not trigger his parachute and it was not, nor is it a procedure to be equipped with an emergency parachute with an automatic barometric opening mechanism.

The aircraft, operated by Skydive Kalifornia (aka Skydive Toscana) was involved in a local skydiving flight from Cecina Airfield. When the aircraft reached the assigned altitude, six of the seven skydivers bailed out. When the seventh skydiver elected to jump, his auxiliary parachute accidentally opened while the skydiver was still in the cabin. He was sucked outside and collided with the right horizontal stabilizer that later detached. The aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in a field. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and both pilots were killed. There was no fire. All seven skydivers were uninjured.

The commercial pilot reported that, after takeoff on the local skydiving flight, the engine experienced a total loss of power. He initiated a turn toward the airport, but realized the airplane would not reach the runway and chose to perform a forced landing to an open field. During the landing roll, the airplane exited the field, crossed a road, impacted a truck, and continued into a vineyard, where it nosed over. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the fuel pressure line that connects the fuel control unit to the airframe fuel pressure transducer was fractured below the fuel control unit fitting's swaged seat. In addition, a supporting clamp for the fuel pressure fuel line was fractured and separated. The operator reported that the fractured fuel line had been replaced the night before the accident and had accumulated about 4 hours of operational time. The previously-installed line had also fractured. Metallurgical examination of the two fractured fuel lines revealed that both fuel lines fractured due to reverse bending fatigue through the tube wall where a ferrule was brazed to the outside of the tube. There were no apparent anomalies or defects at the crack initiation sites. Examination of the supporting clamp determined that it fractured due to unidirectional bending fatigue where one of the clamp's tabs met the clamp loop, with the crack initiating along the inward-facing side of the clamp. The orientation of the reverse bending fatigue cracks and the spacing of the fatigue striations on the tube fracture surfaces were consistent with high-cycle bending fatigue due to a vibration of the tube. The cushioned support clamp is designed to prevent such vibrations from occurring. However, if the clamp tab is fractured, it cannot properly clamp the tube and will be unable to prevent the vibration. The presence of the fractured clamp combined with the fact that the two pressure tubes failed in similar modes in short succession indicated that the clamp most likely failed first, resulting in the subsequent failure of the tubes. Since the clamp was likely fractured when the first fractured fuel pressure line was replaced, the clamp was either not inspected or inadequately inspected at the time of the maintenance.

The pilot reported that he was landing in gusty crosswind conditions following a parachute jump flight, and that the gusty conditions had persisted for the previous 10 skydiving flights that day. The pilot further reported that during the landing roll, when the nose wheel touched down, the airplane became "unstable" and veered to the left. He reported that he applied right rudder and added power to abort the landing, but the airplane departed the runway to the left and the left wing impacted a tree. The airplane spun 180 degrees to the left and came to rest after the impact with the tree. The left wing was substantially damaged. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

The twin engine airplane departed Shell Airport at 1251LT for a local training exercice with a crew of three and 19 paratroopers on board. About an hour into the flight, the crew informed ground he was returning to his base due to the deterioration of the weather conditions. Shortly later, the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in a wooded area. All 22 occupants were killed. Up to date, this is the worst accident involving an IAI Arava 201.

Following an uneventful skydiving mission over the Dubai Drop Zone, the pilot was returning to his base. Upon landing on runway 06, the twin engine aircraft went out of control, veered off runway to the left, struck an embankment and came to rest with the right wing torn off. The pilot was uninjured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The single engine aircraft departed Casale Monferrato-Francesco Cappa Airfield on a local skydiving mission, the 13th sortie of the day, carrying seven skydivers, three tourists and one pilot). Shortly after rotation from a grassy runway, the pilot encountered engine problems. The aircraft continued in a flat attitude, collided with a hedge and few trees before coming to rest in a wooded area located 300 metres past the runway end. All 11 occupants were injured, some of them seriously. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The twin engine aircraft was carrying 17 skydivers and two pilots and was performing a skydiving mission with another Let L-410 owned by the same operator. Registered OM-SAB, the second aircraft was carrying 17 skydivers and 2 pilots as well. Both crew were preparing a program for an airshow scheduled next Sunday August 23. While climbing to an altitude of about 1,400 - 1,500 metres, the pilot of OM-ODQ was trying to get closer to OM-SAB when both aircraft collided. All but three skydivers were able to bail out prior both aircraft crashed in a wooded area located north of the airfield. All four crew members were killed and three skydivers as well, one in OM-SAB and two in OM-ODQ.

The twin engine aircraft was carrying 17 skydivers and two pilots and was performing a skydiving mission with another Let L-410 owned by the same operator. Registered OM-ODQ, the second aircraft was carrying 17 skydivers and 2 pilots as well. Both crew were preparing a program for an airshow scheduled next Sunday August 23. While climbing to an altitude of about 1,400 - 1,500 metres, the pilot of OM-ODQ was trying to get closer to OM-SAB when both aircraft collided. All but three skydivers were able to bail out prior both aircraft crashed in a wooded area located north of the airfield. All four crew members were killed and three skydivers as well, one in OM-SAB and two in OM-ODQ.

After takeoff from Dubai-Skydive Campus Airfield, while climbing to a height of 2,500 feet, the pilot encountered engine problems. He elected to return to the airport but eventually attempted an emergency landing in a desert area close to the airport. The aircraft crash landed and came to rest, bursting into flames. All 15 occupants escaped uninjured and the aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire.