# NTSB SEA02LA184: Cessna 182, N5337B, Estacada, OR, September 29, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 28, 2002, 18:45 local (Sep 29, 2002, 01:45 UTC) - Place: Estacada, OR - Coordinates: 45.303054, -122.359725 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.3031&lon=-122.3597&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 5 uninjured - Status: Completed, report April 8, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Portland FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 55807 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA02LA184 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/55807/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA02LA184 ## Probable cause The entanglement of an inadvertently opened skydiver's parachute in the aircraft’s elevator and rudder just after a group of four skydivers positioned themselves on the aircraft's external jump platform prior to a jump. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Airframe/component/system failure/malfunction, cruise - flight control,elevator - entangled (cause) - flight control,rudder - entangled (cause) - Loss of control - in flight, descent - uncontrolled - flight control,elevator - restricted - In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - uncontrolled - terrain condition - ground ## Analysis While the aircraft was level at 10,500 feet above sea level (MSL), four skydivers took their positions on the right exterior jump-step of the aircraft. Just after the last jumper was on the step, the parachute of one of the jumpers inadvertently deployed and streamed back into the aircraft's tail surfaces. Soon thereafter, the subject jumper separated himself from the deployed parachute, jumped from the aircraft, and opened his reserve chute. At about the same time, the other three jumpers also departed the aircraft. Although the pilot attempted to control the aircraft, he found that with the parachute wrapped around the tail surfaces, the rudder and elevator did not respond to his control inputs. He therefore applied a small amount of right rudder in an attempt to separate the parachute from the aircraft, but the airplane responded by pitching nose down and entering what appeared to the pilot to be an inverted spin. At that point, the pilot also jumped from the aircraft and successfully opened his parachute, and the aircraft continued to spin inverted until it impacted the terrain. ## Factual narrative On September 28, 2002, approximately 1845 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 182, N5337B, impacted the terrain during an uncontrolled descent about three miles northwest of Estacada, Oregon. The private pilot and the four skydivers he took aloft were not injured, but the aircraft, which is owned and operated by Skydive Incorporated of Eagle Creek, Oregon, was destroyed. The 14 CFR Part 91 skydiving release flight, which departed Beaver Oaks Airport, Estacada, Oregon, about 15 minutes earlier, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed. There was no report of an ELT transmission. According to the pilot, after leveling at 10,500 feet above sea level (MSL), all four jumpers took their positions on the right exterior jump-step of the aircraft. Just after the last jumper was on the step, the parachute of one of the jumpers inadvertently deployed and streamed back into the aircraft's tail surfaces. Soon thereafter, the subject jumper separated himself from the deployed parachute, jumped from the aircraft, and opened his reserve chute. At about the same time, the other three jumpers also departed the aircraft. Although the pilot attempted to control the aircraft, he found that with the parachute wrapped around the tail surfaces, the rudder and elevator did not respond to his control inputs. He therefore applied a small amount of right rudder in an attempt to separate the parachute from the aircraft, but the airplane responded by pitching nose down and entering what appeared to the pilot to be an inverted spin. At that point, the pilot also jumped from the aircraft and successfully opened his parachute, and the aircraft continued to spin inverted until it impacted the terrain. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N5337B](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N5337B), registered now, S/N 33337, built 1956 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 182 - Registry model: [Cessna 182](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-182) (registry code 2072702) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 33337 - Airframe hours: 3811 - Engines: Continental O-470-S 230 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Flight: Skydiving, Part 91 - Operator: Skydive Incorporated - Registered owner: Skydive Incorporated - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, November 10, 2001 - Departed: OR66, Estacada, OR - Destination: OR66 ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 23; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review February 25, 2001; seat: left; flight hours: 176 total, 69 in this make and model, 123 as pilot in command, 47 in the last 90 days, 19 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 70 °F, dew point 43 °F - Altimeter: 29.73 inHg ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20020928029949A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020928029949A), Sep 28, 2002: Cessna 182, Estacada, OR, Destroyed. (-23) The pilot, travis william marshall states: I departed OR66 at approximately 18:20 with myself and four parachutists aboard. I conducted a normal climb to… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.