1992 — Sep 7, Beechcraft Parachuting Plane Crash, Hinckley, IL — 12

–12  NTSB. NTSB Brief, Identification:  DCA92MA048…Accident…Sep 7, 1992. 30 Nov 1993.

–12  NTSB. Special Investigation Report…Safety of Parachute Jump Operations. 2008, p.3.[1]

Narrative Information

“After takeoff, the airplane was seen at low altitude trailing smoke from the left engine.  Witnesses saw the wings ‘tipping’ back and forth, then a wing dropped and hit the ground.  Examination revealed that a supercharger bearing had failed in the left engine. The left engine had been recently installed by non-certified personnel after being inactive for 18 yrs without preservation. The airplane had flown about 184 hrs since the last annual inspection; no record of subsequent 100-hr inspection. The left prop blades were found in an intermediate position between the operating range and the feathered position. The left prop was changed several weeks prior to the accident. There is no evidence that the left prop had ever been successfully cycled to the full feather position. The operator and pilots were not aware of Hamilton Standard SB 657 recommending full-feather checks every 30 days. Left prop feathering motor relays not recovered. All parachutists were found in center part of fuselage; no evidence of restraint usage.

“The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

“Inadequate maintenance and inspection by the operator which resulted in an engine power loss during the critical takeoff phase of flight.  In addition, the pilot did not, or was unable to, attain a full-feather position on the left engine propeller, which would have most likely enabled the airplane to sustain minimum control airspeed.” (NTSB. NTSB Brief, Identification:  DCA92MA048…Accident…Sep 7, 1992. 30 Nov 1993.)

Source

National Transportation Safety Board. NTSB Brief, Identification:  DCA92MA048, Nov 30, 1993. Accessed at: http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001211X15678

National Transportation Safety Board. Special Investigation Report on the Safety of Parachute Jump Operations (NTSB/SIR-08/01). Washington, DC: NTSB, Adopted 9-16-2008, 64 pages. Accessed 2-22-2016 at: http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-studies/Documents/SIR0801.pdf

[1] From: “Table 1. Fatal parachute jump operations accidents since 1980.”