Cessna 182 accident near Butler, Missouri, November 6, 2005
On November 6, 2005 at about 9:00 pm local time, a Cessna 182, registered N5784B, was substantially damaged in an accident near Butler, Missouri (Butler Memorial Sssssssairport). It was a skydiving flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The damage to the horizontal stabilizer was a result of the inadvertent deployment of the skydiver's reserve parachute.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 6, 2005 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Butler, Missouri · Butler Memorial Sssssssairport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182 · all 182s on the register
- Registration
- N5784B · registry record · serial 33784
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Skydiving flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Cessna 182, operating as a platform for skydiving operations, sustained substantial damage during a skydiving flight. The commercial pilot reported a skydiver's reserve parachute accidentally deployed while the skydiver was getting established on the step before jumping from the airplane. The reserve parachute became entangled around the airplane's right horizontal stabilizer and bent the outboard section of the stabilizer and elevator downward. The skydiver was able to get the chute released from the airplane, and when he landed he received serious injuries. The pilot instructed the other skydivers on board the airplane to jump out of the airplane, and they landed safely. The pilot landed the airplane without further incident.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 861 hours in all; 140 in this make and model; 170 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
The aircraft
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BUM Butler MO
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.