Loss of control Accident Buckeye Breeze LX N300DN,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 289249
 
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Date:Friday 10 June 2011
Time:12:30 LT
Type:Buckeye Breeze LX
Owner/operator:
Registration: N300DN
MSN: 16490
Total airframe hrs:91 hours
Engine model:Rotax 912S
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Minor
Category:Accident
Location:Montague, California -   United States of America
Phase: Initial climb
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Montague, CA
Destination airport:Montague, CA
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The owner/pilot took off in the special light-sport powered parachute, and the aircraft immediately started to veer to the left. The pilot responded by pulling on the right steering line. The flightpath was corrected, but the aircraft did not "feel right" to the pilot, and he began a right turn for a landing. As the aircraft turned crosswind, at an altitude of about 50 feet above a lake, it pitched up and fell backward into the lake, where it sank to the bottom. The pilot was able to free himself, despite serious injuries. The pilot reported that, at an unspecified date before the accident, he replaced the bridle with a different design than the original. During a flight after the bridle change but before the accident flight, the new bridle became caught on part of the airframe. The pilot was able to reach back to free the bridle and avoid a loss of control. Neither the bridle nor the airframe was modified in the period between the earlier event and the accident flight. Because the bridle and suspension cables significantly change their angles and positions relative to the chassis as the parachute inflates during the takeoff roll, it is critical that the design precludes the possibility for any cable to get caught on the airframe during that process; such capture could result in a misinflated or misaligned parachute, rendering control difficult or impossible. Neither the aircraft nor the bridle was examined after the accident, and the pilot did not provide detailed information regarding the design of the bridle or airframe structure. Therefore, although information provided by the pilot suggests that the bridle again caught on the airframe, the specific reason(s) for the capture could not be determined.

Probable Cause: The unintended capture of the parachute bridle on a portion of the airframe during the takeoff roll, which resulted in a misinflated or misaligned parachute and an in-flight loss of control.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: WPR11LA275
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 2 years 1 month
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB WPR11LA275

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
05-Oct-2022 11:33 ASN Update Bot Added

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