Belgian plane crash involving parachutists leaves 11 people

[EA757]

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/ ... _dead.html



Eleven dead in Belgian plane crash

(AFP) – 1 hour ago

Brussels — A plane carrying 10 skydivers, including one making her maiden jump for her birthday, crashed shortly after takeoff in Belgium Saturday, killing everyone on board and the pilot, authorities said.

"There were 11 killed: the pilot and 10 skydivers, including one woman," Jean-Claude Nihoul, the mayor of Fernelmont where the accident happened, told AFP.

The woman, Maxime Prevot, was taking part in her first parachute jump for her birthday, said the mayor of Namur, the nearest major city.

The accident took place just before 4:00 pm (1400 GMT) some 75 kilometres (50 miles) southeast of the capital Brussels.

"The plane took off from Temploux aerodrome and crashed in a field around 10 minutes later," said Nihoul.

"The plane, partially burned up, could no longer be recognised," he added.

When firefighters arrived on the scene, the twin-engined plane was already ablaze and all the occupants dead, said Michel Doumont, head of the Namur fire service.

Several witnesses said they saw the plane's right wing fell off in mid-flight.

"I just saw a plane lose its right wing in mid-flight and crash. I heard a massive 'bang' ... I didn't see anyone escape with a parachute," one witness told local television channel RTL.

Another local witness described seeing the plane fly over him with "pieces falling off it".

"Then the plane's nose dropped and it crashed 200 metres further on," the witness added.

Benoit Pierson rushed to the plane when he saw it go down. "One of the passengers was still alive, smashed up, but alive," he told local television.

"Other passengers jumped at the last minute. They died in the field," he added.

King Philippe inspected the site of the wreckage in the early evening. He was due later to meet families of the victims.

Belgian Prime Minister Elio di Rupo said he "learned with sadness of the tragic plane accident near Namur".

He offered his "most sincere condolences to the families and relatives" of the victims.

The small plane came down around 250 metres (yards) from houses near the village of Marchovelette, 10 kilometres (six miles) from the southern city of Namur.

Nicolas Hormans, an instructor at the Temploux parachuting club, where the majority of the victims were from, said the people on board stood little chance of escape.

"If the plane was in a tailspin, it wouldn't have been possible to jump earlier. The passengers would have been in a centrifuge," he told RTL.

[PilotDAR]

The news (and photo) indicate a PC-6 Porter, so not single engined, but otherwise makes sense. 11 persons seems crowded, but plausible. Of course, I have no details. but my experience tells me that often jump planes are at capacity with jumpers (so lesser climb performance) and older, so more prone to an undetected "condition". Jump planes don't seem to get presidential type maintenance, so perhaps something got through undetected.

The unfortunate outcome can be fuelling the "aging aircraft" debate, and triggering more inspection requirements (which might be appropriate, I suppose).

[linecrew]

From the ASN website:

http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=161542

[SpyPilot]

I gather you meant to say, not twin engined, as the Porter is a single.

When I read about eyewitness claims of a wing falling off I was highly sceptical but not anymore. This isn't the first incident of a skydive PC-6 experiencing wing failure.

http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=20232

[PilotDAR]

I gather you meant to say, not twin engined, as the Porter is a single

Indeed, that is what I meant to say, thanks....

[ruddersup?]

I suspect this is a zero fuel weight problem/failure, not knowing if the aircraft even has a zero fuel limitation. I would bet he had minimum fuel on board, and "overloaded" the cabin. Might be legal but really puts max stress on the wings. If he had 500 lbs. in wings this might not have happened on this flight but only delayed the inevitable. Throw in turbulence, age, repetition and this could have been the cause.
Only speculation here. I'm not sure if the PC-6 was built primarily as a sky diving aircraft because then the standard loading would have beem more in the configuration it was in when failure happened.

[jump154]

I know back in my skydiving days many years ago I saw many videos of Porters in a dive, beating the freefallers down from altitude. Always wondered about the stress cycles on those wings, as I heard many boasts of more cycles due to the ability of getting the jumpship down quickly - which implies it was a common occurrence not just a one-off for video thing.

[MUSICMAAN]

the Porter does have a time limit on the wings. 15000 hours rings a bell, but I could be wrong.

[bmc]

I know back in my skydiving days many years ago I saw many videos of Porters in a dive, beating the freefallers down from altitude. Always wondered about the stress cycles on those wings, as I heard many boasts of more cycles due to the ability of getting the jumpship down quickly - which implies it was a common occurrence not just a one-off for video thing.

Here in Europe, the PC-6 is the most popular jump plane. Rolling the plane into a vertical descent with reverse pitch is the standard descent used. Most if not all jumps are from 12,500 feet. I met a sales guy from Pilatus at the EBACE show a couple of years back and asked about the procedure and if it stresses the airplane. He said that if done properly, it puts no stress on the machine. I now wonder about that. The PC-6 is a strong machine. Despite that you have to wonder about two airplanes shedding wings.

[Beefitarian]

Anyone can enter vertical descent without stressing them. Exiting vertical decent is a little trickier I suspect. I would wager that's when guys are pulling out to hard and causing the problems. When the wings don't come off they figure everything's cool and never tell maintenance what happened.

It slowly gets closer each time, metal fatigue, stress cracks. One day the poor beast sheds a wing.

[kilpicki]

10 divers is standard load. There is a 12 mo. repeatitive eddy current and visual inspection on the upper strut to wing fitting to see the spherical bearing is situated correctly and to check for fretting atc. If this fitting failed its not the first time its happened.

[GGCC]

I know back in my skydiving days many years ago I saw many videos of Porters in a dive, beating the freefallers down from altitude. Always wondered about the stress cycles on those wings, as I heard many boasts of more cycles due to the ability of getting the jumpship down quickly - which implies it was a common occurrence not just a one-off for video thing.

I agree, been there done that as an unparchuted PAX at Ellington Conn.
That Porter fell out of the sky, beating the divers to the ground and on flare the prop (in beta i believe)
The AC feels like it's hitting a barn wall and they do this jump after jump....

BTW you can boost a PT 6 with a set of cables and an old Pontiac station wagon

[kilpicki]

"like hitting a barn wall" sorry I don't follow, could you expand on this? when does this hitting happen?
what phase of the flight mode is like hitting a barn wall repeated every jump? on decent? on landing?

I work with about 15 Porter drivers, most if not all got their time at a drop zone and I want to ask them this question but don't want to look like an idiot so please explain. Merci.

[kilpicki]

just out...aircraft may have had a wing strike on previous landing.

regarding hitting the barn wall every trip.... you decend in beta or (feather in Switzerland )but don't land in beta. just spoke to some Porter drivers and all asked,:when do you hit this wall" We're all waiting for the answer.

[MUSICMAAN]

well, I'm not a Porter pilot, but I think I can explain the barn wall theory...

The PC6 has a high idle setting on the engine, and so when flight idle, (Beta) is selected the propeller goes in to flat pitch at a high rpm and creates a great amount of drag, which some would describe is like hitting a wall. To clarify, they don't go in to "reverse" pitch in the air, and if they do, well, that's just plain silly.

MM

[kilpicki]

yes the B2 H2 is rigged to 2200 RPM and the B2 H4 is 2000 RPM . so hi idle is 2200 on the H2 but NO it doesn't cause a barn wall effect when pulled into beta. Not sure if drop zone Porters are rigged to H2 or H4 specs, Ill have to check.