Overview
A midair collision occurred between Air US Flight 716, a Jetstream, and a Cessna TU206 (N4862F) operated by Sky's West Parachute Center. The accident took place near Fort Collins/Loveland Municipal Airport, Colorado. Both aircraft sustained structural damage and lost control, resulting in the destruction of both airplanes.
Sequence of Events
Air US Flight 716 departed Denver-Stapleton, CO at 15:46 for a flight to Gillette, WY. At 15:59, the flight contacted Denver Center to request maintaining FL130, which was approved. Simultaneously, the Cessna TU206 was climbing in a racetrack pattern over Fort Collins/Loveland Municipal Airport to an altitude of FL155. The Cessna had departed at 15:30 for its second parachute jump flight of the day.
The Cessna was in a climbing left turn on a northwesterly heading when it was struck by the Jetstream. The No. 1 propeller of the Jetstream cut through the aft fuselage of the Cessna, causing immediate loss of control for both aircraft.
Two of the skydivers were killed inside the Cessna during the collision. The pilot and three parachutists exited the aircraft and parachuted to the ground. The remains of the Cessna descended out of control and crashed in an open field. The Jetstream impacted the ground in a nearly vertical pitch attitude in an open field about 4,000 feet northeast of the Cessna wreckage.
Probable Cause
The official probable cause cited: the failure of the Cessna pilot to establish communications with the Denver Center and climbing into controlled airspace above 12,500 feet without an authorized deviation from the altitude encoding transponder (Mode-C) requirement; the practice of the Denver Center of routinely condoning Sky's West parachute jump operations above 12,500 feet without a Mode-C transponder; and the failure of the pilots of both aircraft to "see and avoid" each other. Contributing to the accident was the fact that existing regulations do not prohibit parachute jumping in, or immediately adjacent to, Federal airways.