Short SD3-30 200 N179Z

Summary

On 31 July 2000 at about 00:00 local time, a Short SD3-30 200 registered N179Z was involved in an accident near Elk City, Idaho, United States. 4 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

31 July 2000 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Elk City, Idaho, United States

Coordinates

45.8009, -115.5108

Aircraft

Short SD3-30 200

Registration

N179Z

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Public Use

Purpose of flight

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Missoula → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA00TA149

Nobody was injured.

Entanglement of air-dropped cargo parachute with the aircraft's horizontal stabilizer, resulting in damage to the horizontal stabilizer.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

While airdropping a cargo box containing supplies for smokejumpers the aircraft had just dropped, the cargo box's parachute became entangled in the aircraft's horizontal stabilizer. Following the entanglement, the cargo box broke free of its parachute and fell away from the aircraft, and the aircraft subsequently returned to its departure base and landed without further incident. There were no injuries to anyone aboard the aircraft, nor were there any reports of injuries to persons on the ground. A letter signed by a regional director of the U.S. Forest Service stated that the mishap 'was caused by external events involving either paracargo packing, handling, or deployment.'

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.