ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 305928
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| Date: | Thursday 14 December 2000 |
| Time: | 17:20 |
| Type: |  de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter |
| Owner/operator: | Hewlett-Packard Company |
| Registration: | N252SA |
| MSN: | 614 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1979 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 30743 hours |
| Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney PT6-27 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 7 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Sacramento, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Executive |
| Departure airport: | Sacramento Executive Airport, CA (KSAC) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On December 14, 2000, about 1720 Pacific standard time, a passenger aboard a Dehavilland DHC 6, N252SA, sustained fatal injuries when she exited the airplane near Sacramento, California. The Hewlett-Packard Company was operating the airplane on a corporate transportation flight under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The airline transport pilot, copilot, and four passengers were not injured, and the airplane was not damaged. The flight departed Sacramento Executive Airport about 5 minutes prior to the occurrence. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed.
A passenger aboard an airplane sustained fatal injuries when she exited the airplane through an emergency exit during flight. The emergency exit door, hinged along the edge toward the nose of the airplane, was on the right side of the cabin between the right rear single seat and the rear pair of seats. Opening the door in flight would require significant force to overcome the wind pressure. The deceased passenger sat by herself next the emergency exit. The passengers in the seats immediately ahead of the emergency exit said they heard a loud sound, like rushing air, behind them and knew this wasn't normal. They thought they felt the wind, and one passenger turned to look over his right shoulder. He saw the deceased passenger with her shoulders out of the door. Her left arm was passing over his head, so he grabbed her coat at her left wrist. He tried to reach further right for a better hold, but now could only see the dark coat and her arm. He felt a tug; the female slipped from his grasp and fell clear of the airplane. Officers from the San Jose Police Department, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the investigator-in-charge (IIC) from the Safety Board examined the airplane after FBI personnel completed a forensic analysis of the cabin. A red cover, inscribed with the word "LIFT" in white letters, lay over the emergency exit door's operating handle. With this cover lifted up, the handle required a noticeable force to rotate it about 45 degrees in a clockwise direction. Rotation of the handle moved a 1/2-inch diameter metal rod approximately 1-inch from the latched to the unlatched position. The latch receptacle in the airframe did not exhibit any deformities. The IIC locked and unlocked the door several times and detected no malfunctions. The victim's husband informed the FBI that, the day before the incident, his wife scheduled an appointment for counseling later that week. Toxicological tests on the deceased passenger found no ethanol or other drug substances. The coroner's office classified the death as a suicide.
Probable Cause: The passenger committed suicide.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
https://www.aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=46519
Revision history:
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