Beech B90 accident near West Point, VA
On August 1, 2009, a Beech B90 (airplane) was involved in an accident near West Point, VA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- August 1, 2009
- Place
- West Point, VA
- Aircraft
- Beech B90 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 37.521°N, 76.763°W
- NTSB ID
- 20090803X05217
Official records · ERA09LA435
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 1, 2009, about 1900 eastern daylight time, a Beech B90, N1999G, registered to Fayard Enterprises LLC, operated by Rampart Aviation, Inc., was substantially damaged during a skydive flight near West Point, Virginia. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 skydive flight from Middle Peninsula Regional Airport (FYJ), West Point, Virginia. The pilot and 5 skydivers were not injured while one skydiver was killed. The pilot stated that before takeoff fourteen skydivers boarded the airplane. The flight departed and climbed to 14,000 feet where a group of skydivers deplaned. At that point, he felt a large thud and a shudder in the flight controls that lasted about 3 seconds. The airplane yawed to the left and pitched up, then the flight control feel returned to normal. According to a student jumper who was on his 26th jump, after the group of skydivers deplaned, his instructor positioned himself at the cabin door opening facing inside the cabin, and he came in front of his instructor. The student jumper reported that he put his hands on the instructor's chest and 1 count before exiting, he noticed the instructor's reserve parachute handle was "out." He told the instructor to stop and tried to grab him from the back to bring him back into the airplane. The instructor was "…ripped out of the plane..." and he watched the instructor hit the tail then noted he fell away from the airplane. He watched the instructor's reserve parachute open and by that time he was t
Probable cause
The inadvertent deployment of the instructor's reserve parachute.
More accidents in VA
- Boeing 757-200, Sep 11, 2001
- Beech B99, Sep 23, 1985
- Beech 65, Sep 10, 1995
- Beech 200, Oct 24, 2004
- Piper PA-31-310, Nov 14, 1982
Browse: Virginia · Beech aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
