Cessna 206 Cancun Lake Crash 30Mar2021

[jeepjeep]

A Cessna 206 XA-UPC crashed into ocean waters a few hundred yards off the shore from Cancun, Mexico on 30 March 2021. The crash killed both the pilot and co-pilot who were the only occupants of the plane. The aircraft was towing a banner for a party boat event on Nichupte Lagoon off Cancun.

Video shows the plane flying over the water before the crash, in what appeared to be the planned part of the banner stunt. The plane soars over the boat and then dips into a nosedive before plowing into the ocean. Mexican officials rushed to the scene and recovered the two bodies from the crash. The cause of the disaster is still under investigation. The plane was rented from a company called Xomex and departed from Holbox Island. The pilot was the owner of the plane.

The cell video of the flyover and crash taken from the boat is low quality and includes audience cries of grief: https://youtu.be/eJDNaXjtvzU

Below are pics of the descent to water and aircraft recovery.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/681x468/cancun_cesna_01_9c5364a1e8d8141807f95d8e2521b4e883a2d93b.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/638x397/cancun_cesna_02_6e90d732b96fdeb738f2a3b50fe0d32192f5e7b8.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/947x677/cancun_cesna_03_a89176c60be48e5b7d23d11f703fb8a3532d02ed.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/720x960/cancun_cesna_04_2a5d9fbd3481d9d4fc65e303e97f17c810b1cd9e.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/720x960/cancun_cesna_05_4029352292f44102740c225c4150ca946298ea53.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/953x508/cancun_cesna_06_bdc72375a2e978aa1e4319f7920652d372d3a66f.jpg

[jeepjeep]

More air pics...

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1333/cancun_cesna_07_4bc92f0ac9be832dd0e3f77230855fb4cc67db02.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1360x760/cancun_cesna_08_0481dd63043bec55e4cb1da29caa3a4bbadef748.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/828x452/cancun_cesna_09_3fef60eeb92d79e1839495cd59d3a4586503660f.jpg

[DaveReidUK]

2 dead after plane crashes during gender reveal stunt in Mexico (https://abcnews.go.com/International/dead-plane-crashes-gender-reveal-stunt-mexico/story?id=76824951)

[rnzoli]

The video captures a classic stall, spin? The specific cause, who would know?
It's very difficult to tell, as the camera is moved away from the aircraft just when things go wrong.
But what I can see is the possibility of a hard right turn resulting in an accelerated stall and a spin to the left, at low height.
Not the first, not the last of its kind.

[treadigraph]

Saw a quick video clip of a Mexican 206 (I think) doing an incredibly stupid steeply banked low pass over a field recently... proximity of the left wing tip to the ground and most of the rest of the aircraft to a fence/hedge was bad enough, never mind the near hair cut for the photographer... wonder if the same pilot was involved?

[Pilot DAR]

From my experience test flying them, the Cessna 206 is one of the least friendly Cessnas in which to attempt a spin recovery. It'll recover, but you must be decisive about it. Once recovered, they build up speed quickly, delaying a return to level flight common in other Cessnas.