Accident Overview
On October 14, 2016, at approximately 1735 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 208 (registration N208KM) sustained substantial damage during a skydiving operation at Marion County Airport (X35) in Dunnellon, Florida. The aircraft was operated by the National Parachute Test Center, Inc. (NPTC) under 14 CFR Part 91 as a commercial skydiving flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight, which had departed X35 around 1700.
Sequence of Events
According to an NPTC report, the flight carried a commercial pilot, eight skydivers, a jumpmaster, and a training advisor. Before boarding, the training advisor—a skydiving instructor familiar with the aircraft—instructed the jumpmaster on static line jump procedures. Upon boarding, the jumpmaster declined to hook up the static line of his main parachute, stating, "I am not going to jump, so I do not have to."
The flight climbed to 1,250 ft above ground level. The first three skydivers exited uneventfully. As the fourth skydiver moved into position, the training advisor noticed hesitation and saw the jumpmaster lean forward. When the fourth jumper exited, the training advisor observed a flash of white as the jumpmaster's reserve parachute deployed into the aircraft's slipstream. The jumpmaster attempted to pull the parachute back inside but was pulled into the door frame and then dragged out of the aircraft.
Ground observers saw the jumpmaster descend under a streaming (unopened) reserve parachute. They reported he made no movements, appeared unconscious, and did not deploy his main parachute. The pilot maintained control of the aircraft and landed without further incident.
Injuries and Damage
One of the 10 skydivers on board was fatally injured. The commercial pilot and the other nine skydivers were not injured. The aircraft's cargo door frame and fuselage were buckled, as noted by an FAA inspector.
Parachute Examination
Inspection of the jumpmaster's main parachute by an FAA-certificated senior parachute rigger revealed it was intact and still in its deployment bag. The reserve parachute had its injector spring wrapped around the suspension lines, with the deployment ring, connector snap, and part of the spreader bar located midway up the lines. The jump inspection booklet showed the reserve was inspected three days before the accident. NPTC attributed the damage to impact with the door frame as the jumpmaster was pulled out.
The FAA inspector reported the jumpmaster used a military-style parachute with the reserve below the chest. The inspector speculated that the reserve's exposed D-ring (ripcord handle) might have accidentally snagged on another jumper or something in the aircraft, but no definitive cause was determined.
Probable Cause
According to NPTC, the accident resulted from the jumpmaster's "failure to guard his Reserve Ripcord Handle" and was "compounded by [his] failure to exit the aircraft immediately" when his reserve parachute deployed.