20020207001399A

(.19) On February 7, 2002, at 1722 central standard time, a Piper PA-18-150 airplane, N4013E, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Houston, Texas. The airplane was registered to and operated by nighthawk aerial advertising, of pearland, Texas. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 code of federal regulations part 91 banner towing flight. The local flight originated from the clover field airport, pearland, Texas, at 1530. In a telephone interview conducted by the NTSB investigator-in-charge, the pilot reported that while towing a banner, at 1,000 feet AGL, he checked the right fuel quantity gauge, which indicated one-quarter of a tank remaining. He then elected to "fly a little longer before switching to the left tank." Subsequent radio communications with other banner tow pilots diverted his attention from the low-level fuel state. The pilot stated, "a few minutes later the engine quit and I was gliding to the northwest." He then immediately positioned the fuel selector to the left tank and attempted torestart the engine, which was unsuccessful, "as the battery was hot and it wouldn't spin it over." The pilot then initiated a forced landing to a vacant dirt lot with the banner still attached to the airplane. The airplane impacted the terrain in an approximately 60 degree nose down, "slightly left wing low attitude," with an indicated airspeed of less than 40 knots. The airplane bounced once, then nosed over on its back. The pilot also reported that prior to the airplane impacting the ground, the banner and tow rope became entangled in trees and wires located adjacent to the accident site. An examination of the airplane by the FAA inspector revealed that the airplane's fuselage was bent 30 degrees to the left, the cockpit was crushed, and the propeller was bent. An examination of the fuel tanks found no fuel in the right tank, while the left tank had fuel up to the filler neck. (-23) I was advised of this accident at 0815 on Friday, February 8, 2002. Inspectors bob fuller, gary painton and ast david ramos was dispatched to investigate. Upon arrival we observed a white with red trim aircraft, upside down in a field in the 9000 block of almeda road (see attached diagram). Th banner towrope was wrapped around a telephone pole, at the entrance to the field. The towrope was draped over power lines and then southeast for approximately 1200 feet through an open field, over trees and hooked on the top of some power lines. The aircraft was facing east. First point of impact was approximately 70' from the telephone pole. The aircraft appeared to impact, at an angle of 45 to 60 degrees, bounced, then flipped on it's back. Point of impact to resting-place was approximately 20 feet. The fuselage was bent at about 30 degrees to the left, at the forward part of the cabin and the right wing tip had impact damage. Both propeller blades were bent back without much twisting, appeared no more than normal, indicating the engine was not under power at impact. The underside of the nose cowling had dirt and grass embedded in the air intake. Both sets of wing struts were bent towards the wings. There was no apparent damage to the tail surfaces. The tow hook was opened and it appeared to have some sort of tape wrapped around it. There was no obvious indication the main gear tires impacted the ground. Most of the plexiglas was broken out. There was no smell or indication of leaking fuel. Upon looking into the cockpit the following was observed: 1. The tow hook release handle was in the "forward" position. 2. The fuel selector handle was in the "left" tank position. 3. The magneto switch was in the "on" position. 4. The throttle was in the full forward position. At approximately 1330 we went back to the accident scene to observe the aircraft after it had been righted. Upon checking for fuel it was determined that the right hand tank had only unusable fuel and approximately 17 gallons in the left-hand tank. The wing tips were on the ground after the aircraft was righted. (.4) on February 7, 2002, at 1722 central standard time, a Piper PA-18-150 single-engine airplane, N4013E, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Houston, Texas. The airplane was registered to and operated by nighthawk aerial advertising, of pearland, Texas. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 code of federal regulations part 91 banner towin g flight. The local flight originated from the clover field airport, pearland, at 1530. According the pilot/operator aircraft incident report (NTSB form 6120.1/2), the pilot reported that prior to the flight, he had topped off both tanks, ensured the fuel selector was in the right tank position, and checked the fuel strainer. After having flown for "almost an hour," he checked the right tank, observed it to be between one-half to one-quarter full, and decided it was too early to switch to the left tank. The pilot reported that at this time he became involved in "the activities of the flight," and never checked the right tank again. After flying for 1.9 hours, at an altitude of 1,000 feet AGL, the engine lost power. The pilot set up a glide and tried to restart the engine twice, but was unsuccessful in both attempts. At 400 feet AGL, the pilot stated he headed for an open space, where the airplane hit, bounced once, and flipped over, coming to rest inverted. The banner was not released during the forced landing. An examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed that the airplane's fuselage was bent 30 degrees to the left, the cockpit was crushed, and the propeller was bent. An examination of the fuel tanks found no fuel in the right tank, while the left tank had fuel up to the filler neck.