Swiss investigators have highlighted a prior recommendation that pilots of skydiving aircraft should also wear a parachute in their findings over a fatal Pacific Aerospace 750XL crash two years ago.
The recommendation emerged from a June 1998 accident at Bad Ragaz, in which a Cessna U206G suffered the loss of its right-hand horizontal stabiliser when a skydiver – pulled from the aircraft when their parachute opened prematurely – collided with it.
Six skydivers and a pilot had been on board. All the skydivers managed to escape, although one attempted unsuccessfully to rescue the pilot through a tandem jump before being ejected by the aerodynamic forces.
The aircraft crashed near the Bad Ragaz airfield runway. Its pilot was the only fatality.
“Given the available time, the pilot could most likely have saved himself with a parachute,” stated the bureau of aircraft accident investigation, and recommended that pilots dropping skydivers wear one.
Swiss investigation authority SUST refers to the similar circumstances surrounding the 750XL accident at Grenchen on 18 February 2024.
The aircraft, with 11 skydivers, had climbed to 3,700m (12,100ft) above ground at which point nine jumped from the left-hand door.
SUST says the remaining two skydivers had positioned themselves at the door when the reserve parachute of one of them unexpectedly deployed – for reasons that could not be identified.
This pulled the skydiver out of the aircraft and he struck the horizontal stabiliser. The stabiliser was “completely severed” by the impact, says the inquiry, causing the 750XL to enter a steep dive.
The last skydiver jumped from the aircraft and the pilot transmitted a distress call at about 3,300m. Without a parachute, the pilot was unable to exit, and suffered fatal injuries when the aircraft (HB-TCP) crashed about 90s after the collision.
It came down in a field about 900m southwest of Grenchen airport’s runway 06. Debris from the horizontal stabiliser fell north of the runway.
SUST states that carrying a rescue parachute is standard practice, and believes sufficient time was available for the pilot to evacuate after the 750XL became uncontrollable.
It points out that the pilot of another 750XL, which experienced engine failure while conducting skydiving operation in New Zealand in January 2015, survived after parachuting from the aircraft along with all 12 skydivers.
