What happened
A planned formation air drop of skydivers was being conducted at 14,000 feet MSL using two aircraft: a de Havilland DHC-6 acting as the lead aircraft and a Beech King Air 90 flying in trail position.
As the skydivers prepared to exit the aircraft, the Beech King Air 90 was traveling at a higher speed than the de Havilland DHC-6. To avoid a collision with the lead aircraft, the pilot of the King Air performed a maneuver involving a right bank and an upward pitch. During this avoidance maneuver, the pilot lost visual contact with the de Havilland.
Video footage captured by one of the skydivers revealed that at the moment of exit, the Beech King Air 90 was positioned ahead, to the right, and above the de Havilland DHC-6. During the jump, one skydiver made contact with the right propeller of the de Havilland DHC-6. Following the contact, the skydiver began spinning out of control.
A second skydiver attempted to assist by catching the injured individual and deploying their reserve parachute. However, the reserve parachute failed to fully inflate because it had been cut by the propeller. The injured skydiver subsequently fell to the ground. Both aircraft completed the flight and landed without further incident.
The operator noted that this mission represented the first time either pilot had performed a formation air drop in a multi-engine aircraft.