Cessna 208B EX - Snohomish WA - 18 Nov 22

[PeterNSteinmetz]

4 fatalities. Crash of a Caravan preparing for flight test. Would they have been wearing parachutes during this type of flight test?

It seems like something was wrong with the ship if an accelerated 30° bank to the left at 96 kts would cause a breakup.

NTSB Releases Details of Caravan Crash That Killed 4 - FLYING Magazine

A 2021 Cessna 208B EX Caravan crash after it experienced an inflight breakup during test flight maneuvers last month, NTSB said.

www.flyingmag.com

https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/106317/pdf

 

[rotorwrench]

Would they have been wearing parachutes during this type of flight test?

No. Given they were performing baseline tests doubtful they were doing anything out of the envelop. However, since it was aft CG limit testing perhaps they got out of coordinated flight somehow and stalled it which could have led to some aggressive control inputs that may have stressed the airframe to exceed limits?