Apco POWERED PARACHUTE UNREG

Summary

On 29 June 2004 at about 02:30 local time, a Apco POWERED PARACHUTE registered UNREG, operated by Dean C. Dillon, was involved in an accident near Wolf Point, Montana, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 June 2004 at 02:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Wolf Point, Montana, United States

Coordinates

47.9022, -105.6414

Aircraft

Apco POWERED PARACHUTE

Registration

UNREG

Engines

1

Operator

Dean C. Dillon

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wolf Point → Wolf Point

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA04LA119

2 people died.

The pilot's loss of control as a result of trying a low altitude quick turning maneuver. A factor was the pilot's lack of experience in the aircraft.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A family member said the pilot had previously mentioned to her that there was a way to make the airplane turn quicker by pulling harder on some of the cables that control the parachute. On the flight prior to the accident she didn't feel comfortable with some of the turns the pilot was making and wanted him to land. While watching the next flight, estimated to be 500 feet above the ground, she observed the aircraft make some tight turns and lose altitude before impacting the ground and erupt into flames. An instructor pilot, who had only given the pilot ground instruction on how to fly the aircraft, had previously advised the pilot that he needed more instruction before he would be able to fly the airplane. The instructor subsequently discovered that the pilot had been flying the plane since he first purchased it. The instructor again advised the pilot that he needed to get additional instruction and the pilot agreed; however, this never happened. Shortly after the accident occurred a family member told the instructor that the pilot had given her a ride and was making sharp turns with the airplane, which she felt was the cause of the accident. The instructor said that pulling in too much steering line can collapse the side of the parachute the line is on. The instructor believed the pilot was unable to re-inflate the parachute before impacting the ground after the steering lines became entangled.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.