# Incident 19960316017839I: Dhav DHC6, Eloy, AZ, March 16, 1996

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 16, 1996, 13:40 local time
- Place: Eloy, AZ
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 32.7559° N, 111.5548° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Eloy, AZ, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.7559&lon=-111.5548&mi=10
- Aircraft: N930MA (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: DHAV DHC6
- People aboard: 12
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 850 total, 140 in this make and model, 30 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960316017839I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: ON MARCH 16, 1996, AT APPROXIMATELY 1340 HOURS, MS. JOHANNE LAUZON, A CITIZEN OF CANADA, SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES AFTER FAILING TO DEPLOY HER MAIN OR RESERVE PARACHUTE FOR UNKNOWN REASONS. ALTHOUGH NOT A HIGHLY EXPERIENCED JUMPER, HER TRAINING HISTORY, LOGBOOK ENTRIES, ETC. SHOW NO OBVIOUS REASON FOR THIS ACCIDENT. (39 JUMPS TOTAL, 9 IN THE LAST 6 MONTHS.) THE EQUIPMENT SHE WAS USING WAS THE SAME TYPE SHE HAD TRAINING ON AND THE SAME THAT WAS USED BY HER ON A JUMP EARLIER ON THE SAME DAY OF THE ACCIDENT. THE EQUIPMENT USED WAS A VECTOR HARNESS AND CONTAINER SYSTEM, A PD210 MAIN CANOPY, AND A PD 218R RESERVE CANOPY, ALL OF WHICH WERE INSPECTED BY MR. TONY FROST (MASTER RIGGER, DPRE) AND FOUND TO BE PROPERLY PACKED AND IN GOOD SERVICEABLE CONDITION. NO VIOLATION OF THE FAR'S WERE DISCOVERED. TOXICOLOGY TESTS WERE NEGATIVE AND NOTHING WAS FOUND TO INDICATE PRE-IMPACT INCAPACITATION. EXAMINATION OF THE HARNESS AND CONTAINER SYSTEM REVEALED THE MAIN CANOPY RELEASE HANDLE HAD BEEN PULLED AND BOTH MAIN RIGGERS RELEASED. MR. FROST STATED THAT IF PROPERLY OPERATED, THE EQUIPMENT SHOULD HAVE OPERATED NORMALLY. HE ALSO BELIEVES THE VICTIM MAY HAVE BEEN PULLING THE LEG STRAPS AND THOUGHT SHE HAD A MALFUNCTION OF THE MAIN CANOPY, EXPLAINING THE MAIN CANOPY RELEASE HANDLE BEING PULLED. MS. LAUZON WAS A MEMBER OF CSPA #6467 WITH CSPA LICENSE #A5178.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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