19970330010619I

Incident

FAA incident report · Dhav DHC6 · Eloy, AZ · March 30, 1997

Date: March 30, 1997 · 14:00 local
Place: Eloy, AZ
Airport: Eloy Municipal Airport
Phase of flight: Parachute Jumping
Operating rules: Parachute jumping (Part 105)
Aircraft: N930MA
Reported as: Dhav DHC6
People aboard: 23
Fatal injuries: 1

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Narrative: on March 30, 1997 at approximately 1400 MST, MS. Sara ainspan, part of a group of 130 women parachutists trying to break a world record, suffered serious head injuries when she broke away from the group and landed face first in an area near the drop zone located at Eloy, Arizona. Ms. Ainspan was taken to a nearby hospital where she died three days later. A highly experienced jumper, MS. Ainspan had over 720 jumps logged. This particular jump was the third jump of the day. Witnesses reported seeing her chute deploy normally, observed a "flare" but no one was sure why she landed head first. Ms. Ainspan was wearing a "frap hat" not a helmet. Parachute was believed to be a roboz with a javelin harness, but could not be located after the accident.

As the FAA filed it

NARRATIVE: ON MARCH 30, 1997 AT APPROXIMATELY 1400 MST, MS. SARA AINSPAN, PART OF A GROUP OF 130 WOMEN PARACHUTISTS TRYING TO BREAK A WORLD RECORD, SUFFERED SERIOUS HEAD INJURIES WHEN SHE BROKE AWAY FROM THE GROUP AND LANDED FACE FIRST IN AN AREA NEAR THE DROP ZONE LOCATED AT ELOY, ARIZONA. MS. AINSPAN WAS TAKEN TO A NEARBY HOSPITAL WHERE SHE DIED THREE DAYS LATER. A HIGHLY EXPERIENCED JUMPER, MS. AINSPAN HAD OVER 720 JUMPS LOGGED. THIS PARTICULAR JUMP WAS THE THIRD JUMP OF THE DAY. WITNESSES REPORTED SEEING HER CHUTE DEPLOY NORMALLY, OBSERVED A "FLARE" BUT NO ONE WAS SURE WHY SHE LANDED HEAD FIRST. MS. AINSPAN WAS WEARING A "FRAP HAT" NOT A HELMET. PARACHUTE WAS BELIEVED TO BE A ROBOZ WITH A JAVELIN HARNESS, BUT COULD NOT BE LOCATED AFTER THE ACCIDENT.