Accident Cessna 208 Caravan I F-HVPC, Thursday 1 August 2024

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Date:	Thursday 1 August 2024
Time:
Type:	Cessna 208 Caravan I
Owner/operator:	Ecole de Parachutisme Sportif de Vannes Bretagne
Registration:	F-HVPC
MSN:	20800247
Year of manufacture:	1996
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants:
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Minor
Category:	Accident
Location:	Vannes - France
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Parachuting
Departure airport:	Vannes-Meucon Airport (VNE/LFRV)
Destination airport:	Vannes-Meucon Airport (VNE/LFRV)
Investigating agency:	BEA
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
During the climb after takeoff, after the door was ajar, the parachute instructor began checking the equipment of the two students who were to be dropped during the first pass at 1,200 m. The parachutist seated in the center, to the right of the first student, then moved to the right and found himself in contact with the parachutist seated next to the ajar door. The latter, although he did not move, made torso movements, including lateral tilts and rotations.

During these torso movements, with the parachute harness adjusted, the parachute followed these movements. The leather handle of the parachute extractor of the parachutist seated next to the door was probably compressed between the floor of the aircraft and the harness bag. This friction against the floor of the aircraft caused the parachute extractor to partially exit its housing. The airflow then caused it to completely exit its housing and carry it towards the outside of the aircraft, thus triggering the main canopy deployment sequence.

As the parachutist was pulled back, the right riser snagged and deformed the aircraft skin. During this snagging, the system connecting the riser to the harness bag was severed as the parachutist was pulled out of the aircraft through the door. The separation of the riser led to the deployment of the emergency canopy, which came into contact with the elevator.

The ejected parachutist was nevertheless able to pilot his emergency canopy and land. The aircraft pilot, however, noticing an anomaly in the aircraft's behavior, decided to return to the airfield and land.

Accident investigation: