Amateur-built DHC-6-100 accident near Sullivan, Missouri, July 29, 2006
On July 29, 2006 at about 6:45 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-6-100, registered N203E, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sullivan, Missouri (Sullivan Regional airport). It was a skydiving flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 6 people were killed and 2 people were seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed following a loss of power in the right engine due to the fracturing of compressor turbine blades for undetermined reasons. Contributing to some parachutists' injuries was the lack of a more effective restraint system on the airplane.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 29, 2006 · about 6:45 pm local time
- Place
- Sullivan, Missouri · Sullivan Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 6 people were killed and 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-6-100
- Registration
- N203E · no longer on the register · serial 53
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Skydiving flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. The Aircraft Accident Summary Report number is NTSB/AAR 08/03/SUM. On July 29, 2006, about 1345 central daylight time, a de Havilland DHC 6 100, N203E, registered to Adventure Aviation, LLC, and operated by Skydive Quantum Leap as a local parachute operations flight, crashed into trees and terrain after takeoff from Sullivan Regional Airport, near Sullivan, Missouri. The pilot and five parachutists were killed, and two parachutists were seriously injured. The flight was operated under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,000 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 37,434.4 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 1, 2006; 54.6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 11,579 lb
- Seats: 24
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-20 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: UUV Sullivan MO at 6:45 pm
- Destination: UUV
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 24, 4,500 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 95°F (35°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 pm from VIH, 29 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 | 2 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N203E the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.