- Date
- March 24, 2007, 12:40 local (16:40 UTC)
- Place
- Myrtle Beach, SC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4330ZPiper PA-18-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 27, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Columbia FSDO
- FAA report
- 20070324003659A
- Case key
- 65494
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The loss of engine power due to undetermined reasons. A factor in the accident was the pilot's failure to follow emergency procedures when he failed to jettison the advertising banner prior to his forced landing in water.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane collided with water following a loss of engine power. According to the pilot, he picked up a advertising banner at a private airport and proceeded at 1,000 feet agl to the beach. Upon arrival at the beach, he turned to a 250-degree heading and descended to 500 feet agl. The pilot stated that he switched to the right fuel tank, which was full, and experienced a power failure. He switched back to the left fuel tank but could not restore power. He landed in about two feet of water substantially damaging the airplane. Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector found that the pilot had departed the private airport with 5-gallons of fuel in the left tank and 18-gallons of fuel in the right tank. When the pilot switched tanks the engine stalled. His attempt to restart the engine were unsuccessful. The engine was not equipped with an electric starter and it had stopped wind milling. The pilot conducted a forced landing onto the beach and did not drop the banner. Damage to the airplane consisted of the tail section, and damage to the airframe structure. There were no mechanical problems reported by the pilot or discovered during the post-accident examination of the airplane.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, he picked up a advertising banner at a private airport south of Conway, South Carolina. He proceeded at 1,000 feet agl to the beach. Upon arrival at the beach, he turned to a 250-degree heading and descended to 500 feet agl. The pilot stated that he switched to the right fuel tank, which was full, and experienced a power failure. He switched back to the left fuel tank but could not restore power. He landed in about two feet of water substantially damaging the airplane.
Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector found that the pilot had departed the private airport with 5-gallons of fuel in the left tank and 18-gallons of fuel in the right tank. When the pilot switched tanks the engine stalled. His attempt to restart the engine were unsuccessful. The engine was not equipped with an electric starter and had stopped wind milling. The pilot conducted a forced landing onto the beach and did not drop the banner. Damage to the airplane consisted of the tail section, and damage to the airframe structure. There were no mechanical problems reported by the pilot or discovered during the post-accident examination of the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4330Z
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-8650
- Airframe hours
- 16,000
- Engine
- Lycoming O320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Banner tow · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Sky Signs LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 1, 2007
- Departed
- PVT · Conway, SC
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 33
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 1, 2007
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 437 total · 56 in this make and model · 353 as pilot in command · 102 in the last 90 days · 56 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.31 inHg
- Observed at
- MYR
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N4330Z · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.