# Incident 19970330010619I: Dhav DHC6, Eloy, AZ, March 30, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 30, 1997, 14:00 local time
- Place: Eloy, AZ
- Airport: Eloy Municipal Airport
- Phase of flight: Parachute Jumping
- Operating rules: Parachute jumping (Part 105)
- Location: 32.8067° N, 111.5866° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at ELOY MUNI (E60), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.8067&lon=-111.5866&mi=10
- Aircraft: N930MA (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: DHAV DHC6
- People aboard: 23
- Fatal injuries: 1
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970330010619I

## Narrative

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

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.

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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