N732MDCessna 208B · 2004

On November 2, 2015, about 1925 central standard time, a Cessna 208 Caravan, N732MD, registered to Multi-Aero Inc., of Sarasota, Florida, and doing business as Air Choice One of St. Louis, Missouri, was substantially damaged during taxi after braking to avoid a ground vehicle at the Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD). The pilot, co-pilot, and seven passengers were not injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight was being operated as a commuter passenger flight under the provisions of Federal Code of Regulations Part 135. The flight had originated from Ironwood, Michigan (IWD), and ORD was its final destination.

After landing on Runway 27 at ORD, the flight crew proceeded to taxi to the ramp via Taxiway R. Upon coming to a service road perpendicular to the taxiway, a vehicle moved directly across their taxi path. The flight crew immediately applied brakes to stop. While braking, the airplane's tail section stuck the ground before stabilizing back to a normal stance on the landing gear. The flight crew contacted ground control to inform them about the vehicle incident and resumed taxi to the ramp.

According to a report by the FAA inspector who responded to the accident scene, the driver of the service vehicle (OPS 11) had radioed the tower on frequency 120.75. The driver stated that he just cut off an aircraft on taxiway R. A few minutes later, the driver radioed on frequency 129.9 and reported that he was sorry. Both the pilot-in-command, and the first officer reported that they were cut off by the service vehicle and stopped the aircraft immediately to avoid collision.

A special fight permit was issued by the FAA to ferry the aircraft from ORD to the company repair facility in St. Louis, Missouri, to accomplish repairs. As reported on NTSB Form 6120, an inspection of the airplane by the operator revealed structural damage to the aft pressure bulkhead.

On July 17, 2013, about 0800 central daylight time, a Cessna 208B, N732MD, was substantially damaged on the ramp at Chicago O'Hare International Airport (KORD), Chicago, Illinois. The pilot in command, second in command, and nine passengers were not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by Multi-Aero Inc., doing business as Air Choice One under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 as a scheduled domestic passenger flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.The Director of Operations at Air Choice One reported that the pilot in command and 9 passengers were on board the airplane, and the second in command was outside on the right side of the airplane; adjacent to the passenger door and ventral stairs. A passenger in the last row of the airplane asked the second in command to assist her with her seatbelt, at which time the second in command climbed up the stairs into the airplane. At the same time, the gate agent removed the tail stand from the airplane, without communicating with the flight crew.

A passenger in row 3 then stood up to hand a carry-on bag to the second in command so that it could be stowed in the cargo compartment. As the passenger stood up and stepped towards the back of the airplane, the airplane titled backwards and the tail struck the tarmac. The pilot in command ensured that everyone was okay and then asked passengers to move forward in the airplane in an effort to bring the nose of the airplane back down. The pilot in command, second in command, and passengers disembarked from the airplane without further incident.

An examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the bulkhead in the tail section of the airplane. An examination of the airplane and remaining systems revealed no anomalies.