Short SD3-30 200 accident near Elk City, Idaho, July 31, 2000
On July 31, 2000, a Short SD3-30 200, registered N179Z, was substantially damaged in an accident near Elk City, Idaho. It was a public-use flight under public-use (government) rules. No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Entanglement of air-dropped cargo parachute with the aircraft's horizontal stabilizer, resulting in damage to the horizontal stabilizer.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 31, 2000
- Place
- Elk City, Idaho · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Short SD3-30 200
- Registration
- N179Z · no longer on the register · serial SH-3109
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public-use flight · public-use (government) rules
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While airdropping a cargo box containing supplies for smokejumpers the aircraft had just dropped, the cargo box's parachute became entangled in the aircraft's horizontal stabilizer. Following the entanglement, the cargo box broke free of its parachute and fell away from the aircraft, and the aircraft subsequently returned to its departure base and landed without further incident. There were no injuries to anyone aboard the aircraft, nor were there any reports of injuries to persons on the ground. A letter signed by a regional director of the U.S. Forest Service stated that the mishap 'was caused by external events involving either paracargo packing, handling, or deployment.'
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 10,077 hours in all; 400 in this make and model; 115 in the last 90 days; 34 in the last 30 days; 8,000 as pilot in command; 1,400 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,593 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, July 24, 2000; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 23,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-45R (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MSO Missoula MT at 11:05 pm
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 |
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.