20020315004079A

(-23) The pilot of a UV-20, golden knights 253, transmitted "jumpers away" at 5500 feet MSL on the UNICOM frequency at the Marana nw regional airport. The pilot's next transmission was, "...left downwind for runway 12." Approximately 90 seconds after the "jumpers away" transmission and approximately 20 seconds after the "downwind" transmission at approximately 4800 feet MSL, the right wing of the UV-20 struck from above/behind, on the left side of the Cessna 182, N8813T. Post accident inspection of the Cessna aircraft showed a hole in the upper cabin behind the pilot's seat and the right (green) navigation light cover from the UV-20 aircraft in two parts, found behind and in front of the Cessna pilot's seat on the floor. The left flap was substantially damaged, but intact, and the left aileron was substantially damaged with only the outboard approximate one-third still attached. The remaining two-thirds of the aileron was detached from the aircraft and bent downward. The wreckage of the UV-20 was confined to a relatively small area, consistent with a vertical descent or stall/spin accident. (.19) on March 15, 2002, at 1000 mountain standard time, a united states army Pilatus UV-20A, 79-23253, collided with a Cessna 182C, N8813T, over the Marana Northwest regional air park, Marana, Arizona. The Pilatus was operating under the provisions of army flight regulation AR95-1, and the Cessna was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR part 91. The pilot of the Pilatus sustained fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. The commercial pilot and four passengers in the Cessna were not injured; however, the airplane sustained substantial damage. Both airplanes were conducting skydiving operations. The Pilatus had just completed a drop of five members of the us army golden knights parachute team. The Pilatus departed runway 12 at Marana about 15 minutes prior to the accident, and the Cessna departed on runway 12 at Marana about 10 minutes prior to the accident. Both airplanes were going to return to Marana for another jump flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for either airplane. This was the fifth flight of the day for the Pilatus pilot. The golden knights were making practice jumps in two lifts. One lift had five jumpers, and the other lift had four jumpers. One lift would repack their parachutes while the other lift was jumping. As soon as the airplane returned, the team on the ground would board and repeat the cycle. Five jumpers were aboard the accident flight. Witnesses reported that after departure from runway 12, the Pilatus departed to the south and began the climb to the jump altitude of 5,500 feet mean sea level (MSL), which was 3,500 feet above ground level (AGL). The pilot contacted the drop zone safety officer (dzso) to verify that the drop zone was clear and the pilot could begin the jump run. The pilot began the jump run and broadcast the intent to drop jumpers when he was 1 to 2 minutes from the drop zone. The jumpers selected a flight path to the jump zone that was over a taxiway that had a bearing of 300 degrees. The first jumper had the pilot adjust the heading 5 degrees to the left and exited over the drop zone. Jumpers remaining on board the airplane had the pilot adjust the flight to the left another 10 degrees after the second jumper exited the airplane. The first jumper stated that it normally took him between 1 minute and 1 minute 15 seconds to reach the ground. Maximum drop time would be about 1 minute 30 seconds. As he neared the ground he observed everyone running. The Cessna pilot had four jumpers aboard whom he had taken up for a jump earlier that morning. He departed runway 12 and made a sweeping right turn around the airport to set up for the jump. He planned to make a right turn and parallel runway 12, and then turn toward the drop zone. He heard the Pilatus pilot make a 1-minute to drop call, and then a jumpers away call. The jumpers on his airplane looked out of the right side of the Cessna and watched the golden knights exit their airplane. The jumpers said their altimeters read 2,500 feet AGL. The Cessna pilot said jump pilots try to plan their climb so that they reach the jump altitude about the same time they reach the jump zone. The pilot said he had turned to a heading of 120 degrees along the left side of the approach end of runway 12. He heard the Pilatus pilot say on UNICOM that the Pilatus was downwind for runway 12. He was a few seconds away from beginning his turn to the jump run, when everyone in the Cessna heard a loud bang. The pilot said he felt something hit him in the head and the airplane lost several hundred feet of altitude. He looked to his left and saw a yellow and white blur going down and away from him. He heard a strident broadcast on the UNICOM frequency. The pilot thought he had lost an aileron, but he could move the controls and it felt like the right aileron was working. He looked out the window and saw the inner half of the left aileron dangling down. The jumpers looked at him for clearance, and the lead jumper decided they should exit the airplane. All of the jumpers verified they were 2,000 feet above the ground and could safely jump, so all of them exited the airplane. They all landed safely on the northeast side of the runway. The pilot, who was wearing a parachute, determined the airplane was controllable. He continued parallel to runway 12 before making a left descending turn and landed safely on runway 12. A loud speaker at the drop zone broadcast the UNICOM frequency. Both civilian and military witnesses on the ground heard the Pilatus pilot call entering left downwind for runway 12. About 20 seconds later they heard the strident transmissions over the loud speaker, but at first didn't realize the transmissions were from an airplane. Several witnesses looked up and observed the Pilatus at an estimated 1,500 feet AGL in a near vertical, slow nose down spiral. They lost sight of the Pilatus as it descended behind buildings. The Cessna, which was not painted, had a zigzag tear in the skin of left rear section of the cabin. Scrape marks with yellow and black paint ran from the tear area along the top of the left flap and the aft 6 inches of the left wing. The scrape marks initially measured 36 degrees forward from the lateral axis, and then curved aft as the marks progressed outboard. Three hinges attached the left aileron. The inner two hinges fractured and separated, and both hinges contained shards of black paint. The aileron buckled near the outer edge of the center hinge; the aileron angled aft about 15 degrees and down about 30 degrees. A semi-spherical green lens that had fractured into two pieces lay on the floor of the Cessna; one piece lay to the right of the pilot and the other piece was near the rudder pedals. The Pilatus came to rest in a brushy, dry riverbed. The fuselage crushed longitudinally into the principal impact crater (PIC), which was about 22 inches deep. Two of the three propeller blades separated from the hub; one blade was outside the PIC, and the second blade was at the bottom of the PIC. The third blade remained attached to the hub, which separated from the engine, and was in the PIC. All three blades exhibited chordwise striations, and the leading edges were polished. The blade at the bottom of the PIC had leading edge gouges along its entire length. The wings fragmented, but maintained their relative position to the fuselage. Their leading edges and bottom surfaces were crushed aft. The two segments of the left flap were within 40 feet of the main wreckage. The two segments of the left aileron and both segments of the right flap and right aileron were in the main wreckage. The elevator and rudder remained attached to the fuselage, but sustained longitudinal crush damage. The control cables exhibited multiple disconnects. Control cables fractured in a broomstraw pattern; control rods fractured along angular lines with matte fracture surfaces. The wing tips were yellow; the top of the wing was white, and the bottom of the wing was black. The electrical fitting for the right wing tip navigation light remained in the leading edge of the right wing tip.