19990820013579A

Banner-towing acft crashed west of rwy 14/32 while attempting to land, other circumstances are unknown. (.19) on August 20, 1999, at 0950 central daylight time, a Cessna 182B airplane, N7277E, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during a forced landing at Clover Field Airport, Houston, Texas. The instrument-rated commercial pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, sustained serious injuries. The airplane was registered to a private individual and operated by nighthawk advertising, inc., of Houston, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the 14 code of federal regulations (CFR) part 91 banner tow flight. The local flight originated from Clover Field Airport. According to witnesses, the airplane approached the airport from the south and "dropped the banner" in the drop zone between runways 32L and 32R. The airplane was approximately 400 feet AGL when it entered a left crosswind leg for runway 32L. The pilot then reported on the UNICOM "mayday" and stated that the engine experienced a loss of power. The pilot continued banking left toward the airport. The airplane impacted the ground and came to rest upright approximately 1,000 feet short of runway 9. The airplane was examined at the site by an FAA inspector. The right wing separated from the airframe. One propeller blade was not damaged, and the other propeller blade was bent towards the rear of the airplane. The nose landing gear separated from the airframe and the empennage was wrinkled(-23) the CE-182-B was substantially damaged and the pilot was seriously injured in a forced alnding on the edge of the airport. Witnesses and the pilot reported that the banner tow aircraft had just dropped his banner and was climbing at approx. 400 feet when the witnesses heard N7277E make a "mayday" call on UNICOM that his engine had quit. Eyewitnesses and the pilotreport that the propeller was not turning when the a/c impacted the ground. There was no fuel spill at the crash site. Post crash examination showed the fuel selector valve in the "right" position with approx 3 to 4 gallons of fuel remaining in the right tank and 20 gallons or more of fuel in the left tank. (.4)according to the pilot and witnesses, he executed a banner drop in the designated drop zone at 200 feet AGL paralleling runway 32L. The airplane was climbing through 400 feet AGL on the crosswind leg for runway 32L, when the engine experienced a loss of power over a wooded area north of the airport. The pilot banked left toward the airport and initiated a forced landing. The airplane impacted the ground and came to rest 600 feet north of runway 4. Initial responders to the accident site reported that there was 'no fuel spill at the crash site.' Examination of the wreckage revealed that the fuel selector was in the 'right tank' position. The right wing fuel tank contained approximately 2 gallons of fuel and the left wing tank contained 25 gallons of fuel. According to the pilot's operating handbook, the useable fuel for level flight only is 3.5 gallons.