# Incident 19960802020809I: Cessna STC172, Ocean City, NJ, August 2, 1996

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 2, 1996, 13:45 local time
- Place: Ocean City, NJ
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.2693° N, 74.6014° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Ocean City, NJ, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.2693&lon=-74.6014&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6772A, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6772A-1996-11-14) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172 (registry code 2072402, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA STC172
- Reported engine: LYC O360A1A
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 465 total, 300 in this make and model, 115 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960802020809I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: ON AUGUST 2, 1996 AT APPROXIMATELY 1345 HOURS, A CESSNA CE-172, N6772A, PILOTED BY JEFFREY K. SINGER, A COMMERCIAL PILOT, EXPERIENCED SOME DIFFICULTIES WHILE TOWING A BANNER ALONG THE NEW JERSEY COAST. OFF OF OCEAN CITY, NJ THE ENGINE QUIT AND THE PILOT DITCHED THE AIRCRAFT IN THE OCEAN WITH THE BANNER ATTACHED. THE PILOT, SOLE OCCUPANT EXITED THE AIRCRAFT AND STARTED TO SWIM TO SHORE, HE WAS MET BY LIFEGUARDS WHO ESCORTED HIM TO THE BEACH. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND A FLIGHT PLAN HAD NOT BEEN FILED FOR THIS LOCAL FLIGHT. THE PILOT WAS NOT INJURED AND THE AIRCRAFT RECEIVED ONLY MINOR DAMAGE. HOWEVER, DURING AIRCRAFT RECOVERY BY A LOCAL SALVAGE SHIP THE AIRCRAFT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE FILLED THE AIRCRAFT WITH FUEL BEFORE DEPARTING THE CROSS KEYS AIRPORT, CROSS KEYS, NJ (17N). HE SAID THAT HE FLEW FOR APPROXIMATELY 1.5 HOURS ON HIS RIGHT TANK THEN SWITCHED TO HIS LEFT TANK. THE ENGINE QUIT AT APPROXIMATELY 300 FEET ABOVE THE WATER AND BEFORE HE COULD RE-START THE ENGINE THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE WATER, HE EXITED THE AIRCRAFT AND SWAM TO SHORE AT THE 46TH STREET BEACH IN OCEAN BEACH, NJ. THE PILOT IN HIS WRITTEN STATEMENT STATED THERE WAS A POSSIBILITY THAT HE MAY HAVE SET THE TRANSFER SYSTEM UP INCORRECTLY. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ INCIDENT CLOSED.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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