Cessna 206G N206DZ

Summary

On 9 August 2015 at about 14:55 local time, a Cessna 206G registered N206DZ, operated by Skydive Space Center, was involved in an accident near Titusville, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 August 2015 at 14:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Titusville, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Arthur Dunn Airpark (X21)

Coordinates

28.6225, -80.8353

Aircraft

Cessna 206G

Registration

N206DZ

Category

Airplane

Year built

1964

Engines

1

Operator

Skydive Space Center

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Skydiving

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Titusville → Titusville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA15CA302

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's landing with a tailwind at an excessive speed, which resulted in a runway excursion, and collision with a ditch.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he was conducting a skydiver "jump run", and prior to letting the skydivers out the radio squelch interrupter failed causing a constant static noise. After letting the skydivers out over the airport the pilot set up the descent based on the winds acquired for the previous landing on runway 22. As he circled for landing the manifold pressure indication "dropped off" to zero. The pilot was unsure if he had a partial power loss or a gauge failure. He could not hear or feel the engine indications because of the static noise on the radio squelch and descent profile, so he committed to a power off glide path for his approach. The pilot stated that the airplanes approach speed was about 100 knots prior to the threshold for landing. The airplane touched down beyond the threshold and as the pilot applied full braking the airplane "ballooned" back into the air. The pilot attempted to stop the airplane but was unsuccessful and exited the runway, coming to rest after colliding with a ditch. An examination of the airplane revealed that the empennage and firewall was buckled during the landing sequence. The airplane was equipped with a JPI engine monitor and review of the data did not reveal a loss in engine power during the flight. The wind reported from a nearby weather station revealed that winds were 010 degrees at 6 knots at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.