What is this plane? #22

[howardwhite 6]

o.k., duh, it's a Caravan.
But what Caravan?
Ever see it? Ever jump it? Any good stories?

HW

[drjump 0]

Built in 1985--the 17th C-208 built.

[jonstark 8]

Cowboys Caravan.

I lived in Atlanta when it showed up and jumped at Green County/Locust Grove where the a/c eventually was based. I would not fly in it. I saw the way it was being operated and just wouldn't nor would I allow my soon to be Ex. I left town and moved to Florida. A few weeks later I got a call. The a/c had gone to a Cessna Service Center for scheduled maintenance and to troubleshoot an engine power problem which was identified as a contaminated fuel system. The a/c was red-tagged or marked in such a way as to NOT BE FLOWN away from the service center before rectification of the problem. The pilots took it anyway as they had obligations at the DZ. The rest is history. They got to the DZ, fueled from 55 gallon drums, which were not tipped slightly to allow accumulated water to run off the top and not get sucked into thru the bung. There was water again. They took-off and the engine quit. The pilot attempted to return to the field but stall-spun in. The poor fueling, storage and cavalier practices of the operator caused the death of a wonderful group of innocent jumpers.

[BillyVance 34]

When was that again? I guess before I started jumping.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[sdctlc 0]

I found a reference to this crash in the NTSB report on the Perris Vally Otter crash in 1992. They referenced it as one of "Numerous accidents involving sport parachuting operations"

---------------------------
On September 29, 1985, a Cessna 208, N551CC, collided with the
ground after a loss of engine power shortly after takeoff from
Jenkinsburg, Georgia. The airplane was destroyed. The pilot and
16 parachutists were fatally injured. Seatbelts were installed in
the cabin in such a way as to be unusable by the parachutists. The
Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the loss of
power was continued operation with fuel contamination. Loss of
control was the result of an inadvertent stall/spiral.
---------------------------

"He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

[Faicon9493 141]

Quote

Cowboys Caravan.

I lived in Atlanta when it showed up and jumped at Green County/Locust Grove where the a/c eventually was based. I would not fly in it. I saw the way it was being operated and just wouldn't nor would I allow my soon to be Ex. I left town and moved to Florida. A few weeks later I got a call. The a/c had gone to a Cessna Service Center for scheduled maintenance and to troubleshoot an engine power problem which was identified as a contaminated fuel system. The a/c was red-tagged or marked in such a way as to NOT BE FLOWN away from the service center before rectification of the problem. The pilots took it anyway as they had obligations at the DZ. The rest is history. They got to the DZ, fueled from 55 gallon drums, which were not tipped slightly to allow accumulated water to run off the top and not get sucked into thru the bung. There was water again. They took-off and the engine quit. The pilot attempted to return to the field but stall-spun in. The poor fueling, storage and cavalier practices of the operator caused the death of a wonderful group of innocent jumpers.

I remember jumping it at Sky Knights in East Troy, WI. not long before it crashed.

[davidlayne 5]

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=williams&sts=t&tn=cowboys+caravan&x=77&y=15

I don't care how many skydives you've got,
until you stepped into complete darkness at
800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs
of parachute, son you are still a leg!

[howardwhite 6]

This is a reference to one source for a book, "Cowboy's Caravan," written by the father of David "Cowboy" Williams, who owned it and died in the crash.
I have the book and will post more about it later. Briefly, after the crash there were widespread stories that the plane was sabotaged in revenge for some sort of involvement in a drug deal or deals. The book is an elaborate effort to counter those stories. "Drew" Thornton, mentioned in another thread recently, is a prominent figure in the book; he was the skydiver who died Sept. 11,1985, landing in a street in Knoxville, TN with ~75 lbs of cocaine on his body.
I witnessed the first "crash" of Cowboy's Caravan several months before the final one. Anyone remember where and when that was? (If you have read the book, no fair. You had to be there.)

HW

[mccurley 1]

we even heard those revenge rumors over in Aussie at the time

Watch my video Fat Women
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

[kimemerson 7]

I wasn't there at the time as it predated me, and I have read the book though that's not how I know. Or think I know. But "Cowboy" almost crashed the Caravan at the Ranch in NY a few years before he died. I think he hit some trees after take off. And aside from reading the book, being a Ranch hand is how I learned. Is that it? Is that what you're referring to?

[rapter 0]

Now there's a great T-shirt, the one of "Cowboys Caravan" inverted with jumpers jumping out of it, haven't seen one in years

Only the good die young, so I have found immortality,

[councilman24 37]

Hmm, I think I remember that shirt. I may even have one. I'll have to look. Was this the Caravan that was at the 1985 Freak Brothers in Freeport?

I'd forgotten all about this 'story' until this thread.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[usedtajump 1]

Quote

Hmm, I think I remember that shirt. I may even have one. I'll have to look. Was this the Caravan that was at the 1985 Freak Brothers in Freeport?

I'd forgotten all about this 'story' until this thread.

Yes, it was at Freak brothers in 85. Went up on one load in it and refused to get back in it because of the way the pilot "hung it on the prop" just after rotation and kept it that way until the stall wanring system went off. Afterward, watched several more take offs and he did the same thing every time.

The older I get the less I care who I piss off.

[howardwhite 6]

Yes.
On Memorial Day weekend of 1985, there wasn't anything special going on at New England DZs, so a bunch of people drove or flew to the Ranch, where there was to be this never-before-jumped plane, a Cessna Caravan.
By the time we landed there, the first load had already taken off and the second one was full, so we did paperwork and manifested for a later load. Then we stood around watching the second load board and taxi.
As it took off, I think we sensed something was not right. Though we'd never seen one, it didn't sound as though it was developing full power, it did not appear to be using flaps, and it certainly wasn't climbing well. Then we we heard a loud noise and saw the Caravan go through the tops of the trees along the road at the end of the runway.
It disappeared from sight, and we could hear no sounds, but at least there was no crash sound and no sign of smoke from a crash.
A few minutes later, everyone cheered as the plane flew over the airport very low -- about two grand -- and everyone got out.
The plane disappeared again. We learned a few minutes later that it had landed at Kobelt Airport, a couple of miles away.
A couple of us got into our 182 and went there for a look. There were pine branches around the cowling. In my slightly hazy memory, I also see a branch wedged between the horizontal stabilizer and elevator. I could be wrong about that, but there was certainly major elevator damage; the bottom line was that pitch control was obviously very limited. There was pine tar on the prop, but the prop was Kevlar, and intact.
For us, the boogie was over; we all flew home and jumped out of Cessnas for the rest of the weekend.
The rest of this is from the Robert Williams book.
The Caravan had been delivered to "Cowboy" just a few days earlier, on May 21, at Peachtree-DeKalb and he made the first jump out of it during that week.
He flew the first load at the Ranch, then turned it over to Jerry Hannah, who flew the next load.
"According to observers, Jerry either did not set the flaps properly, or didn't give the engine enough throttle, because he took off and the plane barely missed hitting some wires and clipped the top of some trees at the end of the runway."
The plane was ferried to Cessna in Wichita for repairs. A few weeks and $9,000 later, Cowboy picked it up there.
It subsequently flew at East Troy, Bardstown, Xenia, Quincy, West Point, Palatka, Covington, LA. and Freeport.
The book reports a couple of other "incidents," both involving Jerry Hannah as pilot. In one, at Quincy, he "got too close to a DC-8, and the turbulence put the Caravan into a four thousand foot spin."
In another, Aug. 10 at Freeport he lost oil pressure at 300 feet and made a dead stick landing. He had not secured the oil cap. He is quoted as saying "Oh, shit, I did it again."
Others have already noted details of the fatal crash.
A further note: "Drew" Thornton, who is a prominent character in the Williams book, is also a prominent character in "The Bluegrass Conspiracy," by Sally Denton. You can read several passages about him at Google Books. I haven't read it, but I guess I'll go looking for it.
Attached is a lift ticket for Cowboy's Caravan. He apparently had a lot printed: white for 12,500 and blue for 15,000. This one was included in the book as a "complimentary souvenir" for use as a bookmark.

HW

[davidlayne 5]

Put me on the Caravan load.

I don't care how many skydives you've got,
until you stepped into complete darkness at
800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs
of parachute, son you are still a leg!

[lauraliscious 0]

Okay, pardon my ignorance, but did they jump with the door configured as it was in that picture? I can't really tell, but it looks like there are cables holding the stairs up and could the door be opened like that in flight? I'm used to the roll up doors on everything except for C-182's, 206's and such.

Thanks!

Enemiga Rodriguez, PMS #369, OrFun #25, Team Dirty Sanchez #116, Pelt Head #29, Muff #4091

[billabx 1]

No, the door on the right side was for boarding only. The jump door was on the left side and similar in size to a Twin Otter. Cessna actually had a factory designed wind deflector that attached to the front edge of the cargo door specifically for skydiving. This was before the advent of roll-up lexan doors, so they expected the plane to be used for jumping with the cargo door removed.

[billabx 1]

Ah yes, "Driveway Drew"

[Bsquared 1]

In July 1985 I went down to Xenia from Chicago to jump the Caravan. I made 10 jumps that weekend and also sort of hooked up with a young blond college girl who was traveling with the Caravan and running the maiifest. I spoke to her several times over the phone over the next month and made tentative plans to get together again in Georgia. Someone from the DZ called me in Chicago the night of the crash to tell me that she was on board.

[rapter 0]

What some women will do to get out of a date,......
was that in poor taste?

Only the good die young, so I have found immortality,

[howardwhite 6]

From the book, I would guess that your friend was Carol Gordon.
"Carol Gordon had made more than three hundred jumps. She was blonde, and always wore huge, dangling earrings, usually pink. She had a great sense of humor, and everybody liked her."

HW

[Bsquared 1]

Quote

From the book, I would guess that your friend was Carol Gordon.

Its terrible, but after 22 years I cannot remember her name. Attached is a photo of us in Xenia.

[lauraliscious 0]

Quote

No, the door on the right side was for boarding only. The jump door was on the left side and similar in size to a Twin Otter. Cessna actually had a factory designed wind deflector that attached to the front edge of the cargo door specifically for skydiving. This was before the advent of roll-up lexan doors, so they expected the plane to be used for jumping with the cargo door removed.

Thanks for the info, that's really interesting and makes total sense! I didn't even notice that boarding door was on the right side of the AC, not the left as on every Caravan I've ever jumped.

Enemiga Rodriguez, PMS #369, OrFun #25, Team Dirty Sanchez #116, Pelt Head #29, Muff #4091

[Genn 0]

We're trying to figure out my friend's 30th anniversary jump.

It was 1 week prior to when it went thru the trees at The Ranch.

Anyone have the date? He never did keep a log.

BSBD

[megamalfunction 1]

The aircraft departed Jenkinsburg on a skydiving flight. The engine lost power at approx 300 feet agl. and the Caravan then banked steeply left, spiralled in a steep nose down attitude and crashed. It appeared that the fuel in the tanks was contaminated with water and foreign material with the appearance of brown algae. A milky fluid (approx 65% jet fuel and 34% water) was found in the engine fuel control, as well as iron contaminants. Dark stringy material was found in the fuel filters. The aircraft had been refuelled from 55 gallon drums which contained contaminated fuel. The drums were stored upright and rain water could leak through the filler caps.
N551CC had a history of fuel contamination which on occasions caused the fuel bypass indicator to display. Reportedly, the stall warning circuit breaker had been disengaged on other occasions, so as not to startle the jumpers; however, due to damage, its preimpact position could not be verified. The plane was estimated to be 370 lbs (168 kg) over its maximum weight limit and 1 inch forward of the CG limit.