- Date
- July 14, 1991, 12:15 local (16:15 UTC)
- Place
- Hartwood, VA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 6 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N171SBeech H50
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 5, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 11697
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The parachutist failure to properly monitor and secure his release handle to protect against accidental parachute deployment.
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
As the first parachutist was preparing to jump from the wing at an altitude of 12,000 feet, his reserve parachute release handle became attached to some part of the airplane. Before he could react, the parachute opened and pulled him from the wing. The partially deployed chute wrapped around the right horizontal stabilizer, slamming him against the aircraft. The right stabilizer broke away and the jumper descended to a safe landing under the deployed canopy. The pilot was able to maintain control of the aircraft and land without further incident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N171S
- Reported as
- Beech H50
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- HH125
- Airframe hours
- 3,775
- Engine
- Lycoming IGSO-480, 340 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Hartwood Aviation Inc
- Registered owner
- Hartwood Aviation Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 15, 1991 · 10 hours before
- Airport
- 8W8 · Somerville, runway 36, 2,500 × 50 ft, gravel
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
- 67
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,000 total · 300 in this make and model · 5 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 95 °F, dew point -0 °F
Other investigations on N171S · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.