C206 pilot inadvertently dropped skydivers through clouds.

Attributes
ACN	562819
Time
Date	200210
Day	Wed
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	airport : oar.airport
State Reference	CA
Altitude	msl bound lower : 3000 msl bound upper : 9000
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tracon : mry.tracon
Operator	general aviation : corporate
Make Model Name	Cessna Stationair/Turbo Stationair 6
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Affiliation	company : corporate
Function	flight crew : single pilot oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp pilot : cfi pilot : commercial pilot : instrument pilot : multi engine
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 150 flight time total : 3300 flight time type : 15
ASRS Report	562819
Person 2
Affiliation	other
Function	observation : passenger other personnel other
Events
Anomaly	inflight encounter : vfr in imc inflight encounter : weather non adherence : far
Independent Detector	other flight crewa other other : 2
Resolutory Action	none taken : detected after the fact
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Environmental Factor Flight Crew Human Performance Weather
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

Marine layer was slowly breaking up and highly variable with lots of holes, probably 50% coverage from 2500-3000 ft or so. A number of us on the ground thought that the holes looked large enough, and from 9000 ft drop altitude, it looked like there were large enough holes. But after the divers left the jump plane, either the holes closed up or they jumped later than I had anticipated. They never went through a cloud, but they were probably closer than they should have been. We should have delayed for better conditions.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C206 PLT INADVERTENTLY DROPPED SKYDIVERS THROUGH CLOUDS.

Narrative: MARINE LAYER WAS SLOWLY BREAKING UP AND HIGHLY VARIABLE WITH LOTS OF HOLES, PROBABLY 50% COVERAGE FROM 2500-3000 FT OR SO. A NUMBER OF US ON THE GND THOUGHT THAT THE HOLES LOOKED LARGE ENOUGH, AND FROM 9000 FT DROP ALT, IT LOOKED LIKE THERE WERE LARGE ENOUGH HOLES. BUT AFTER THE DIVERS LEFT THE JUMP PLANE, EITHER THE HOLES CLOSED UP OR THEY JUMPED LATER THAN I HAD ANTICIPATED. THEY NEVER WENT THROUGH A CLOUD, BUT THEY WERE PROBABLY CLOSER THAN THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN. WE SHOULD HAVE DELAYED FOR BETTER CONDITIONS.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.