What happened
On the evening of June 21, 2019, a Beech King Air 65-A90, registration N256TA, crashed following its departure from Dillingham Airfield in Mokuleia, Hawaii. The aircraft was being operated by Oahu Parachute Center (OPC) LLC for a scheduled skydiving excursion. During the fourth of five planned jumps for the day, the aircraft departed runway 8 at approximately 1822 Hawaii-Aleutian standard time.
Initially, the pilot and eight passengers boarded the aircraft, including instructors and camera operators. However, two additional solo parachutists joined the flight at the last moment. Shortly after lifting off, the aircraft performed a left bank and rolled into an inverted position. The plane descended into a patch of grass and dirt located roughly 630 feet northeast of the runway's end, where a fire broke out upon impact. The accident resulted in 11 fatalities, including the pilot and all passengers, and the total destruction of the aircraft.
Witnesses observed that the aircraft appeared structurally intact and showed no signs of smoke or unusual engine noise prior to the impact. Surveillance footage confirmed the aircraft was in a 45-degree nose-down, inverted attitude at the moment it struck the ground. There was no recorded communication between the flight and air traffic control, and the aircraft was not equipped with flight data or cockpit voice recorders.
Findings
- The aircraft entered an inverted roll immediately following takeoff.
- Two passengers were added to the flight manifest at the last minute.
- The flight was operating under Part 91 regulations for local parachute jumps.