Skylane 182/RG Turbo Skylane/RG
Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Flight Instructor
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 60; Flight Crew Total 1206; Flight Crew Type 3
Other / Unknown
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control
Aircraft Aircraft Damaged; Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition; Flight Crew Regained Aircraft Control; General Declared Emergency
Human Factors; Aircraft; Procedure
[It took us 16 minutes to] climb to 8;500 feet MSL with 10 degrees of flaps for a tandem skydive. From a level attitude at 80 knots the parachute instructor checked his equipment and exited the aircraft. Immediately following his exit the aircraft went into a nose high attitude then settled into a nose low descending turn to the right. I asked another instructor onboard what happened to which his reply was your tail is messed up. I declared an emergency with Approach and started heading for the Airport approximately 8 miles away. I landed the aircraft in a flat attitude and taxied to the ramp area to shutdown the engine. After speaking with the first instructor that exited the aircraft we believe the drogue chute was caught on and damaged the horizontal stabilizer after being deployed early because of it being trapped beneath the flap lever. My personal experience will lead me to not use 10 degrees of flaps throughout the climb but retract them after takeoff at a safe altitude.
C182 pilot reports momentary loss of control when a parachute instructor and his tandem student exit the aircraft; apparently due to the drogue chute catching on the horizontal stabilizer.