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19990605014769I

Incident
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FAA incident report · Univar 108-2 · Long Beach, CA · June 5, 1999

FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal

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Date
June 5, 1999 · 14:30 local
Place
Long Beach, CA
Airport
Long Beach - Daugherty Field
Phase of flight
Normal Cruise
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Aircraft
N173C
Reported as
Univar 1082
Reported engine
Lycoming O435C1
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
998 total250 in this make and model168 in the last 90 days
N173CRegistration cancelled Jul 7, 2017 · Stinson 108-2S/N 108-3173 · Built 1947Airframe modelStinson 108-2Engine modelLycoming 0-435A/0-435CReciprocating

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

A few minutes into a banner-tow flight, the pilot of N173C observed oil spraying on the aircraft windshield. He turned the aircraft toward the Long Beach airport (klgb). Within a short period of time the windshield was covered with oil to the point that the pilot could not see out. He dropped the banner over an industrial area, shut the engine down, and made an emergency landing on an inactive runway. There were no injuries and no damage to the aircraft. The propeller bearing race failed, causing the oil seal to rupture.

As the FAA filed it

A FEW MINUTES INTO A BANNER-TOW FLIGHT, THE PILOT OF N173C OBSERVED OIL SPRAYING ON THE AIRCRAFT WINDSHIELD. HE TURNED THE AIRCRAFT TOWARD THE LONG BEACH AIRPORT (KLGB). WITHIN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME THE WINDSHIELD WAS COVERED WITH OIL TO THE POINT THAT THE PILOT COULD NOT SEE OUT. HE DROPPED THE BANNER OVER AN INDUSTRIAL AREA, SHUT THE ENGINE DOWN, AND MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING ON AN INACTIVE RUNWAY. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND NO DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT. THE PROPELLER BEARING RACE FAILED, CAUSING THE OIL SEAL TO RUPTURE.