- Date
- July 9, 1983, 18:15 local (22:15 UTC)
- Place
- Suffolk, VA
- Injuries
- 7 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8601ZCessna P206B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830709069339A
- Case key
- 6134
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The parachute of one of the jumpers deployed prematurely. The shroud lines entangled in the right horizontal stabilizer & elevator. As the parachute inflated, the stabilizer was bent downward, & the elevator partially ripped from the trailing edge of the stabilizer. The jumper was liberated from the entanglement & safely landed using his reserve chute. The remaining jumpers exited the acft & the plt safely landed the acft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8601Z
- Reported as
- Cessna P206B
- Category
- Airplane
- Airframe hours
- 2,100
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-A, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- John W. Spruill
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · March 28, 1983 · 20 hours before
- Airport
- SFQ · Suffolk
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 39
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,075 total · 19 in this make and model · 50 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.