What happened
On a scheduled skydiving flight, an aircraft type (not specified) departed from Borkum Airport at 12:54 LT. The flight was carrying a total of 13 people, consisting of one pilot and 12 skydivers.
During the mission, at approximately 13:05 LT, while maintaining an altitude of 14,000 feet over Norderney Island, all 12 skydivers exited the aircraft. Following the jump, the pilot initiated a descent that reached a rate of 4,000 feet per minute while maintaining a constant speed of 160 knots.
As the aircraft approached runway 26, it was observed to be at an extremely low altitude of only 232 feet above the sea, traveling at 150 knots. During the final approach phase, the plane plunged into the Waddenzee, crashing approximately 2,300 meters southeast of the runway 26 threshold. The impact resulted in one fatality (the pilot) and the total destruction of the aircraft.
Findings
The aircraft was not equipped with a Flight Data Recorder (FDR) or Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), which was compliant with the regulations active at the time of the accident. Additionally, the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) failed to activate upon the water impact.