- Date
- July 5, 1997, 15:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Swansboro, NC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7799HPiper PA-12
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 24, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970705020059A
- Case key
- 3869
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 pilot's failure to maintain directional control. A factor was the gusting winds.
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
After the pilot dropped the banner, he returned to the airstrip for a normal landing. The airplane touched down at the mid-field point of the 2,400-foot-long sod strip. After rolling several hundred feet, the airplane started drifting right of the centerline. As the airplane neared the edge of the runway, the pilot advanced the throttle and attempted a takeoff. The airplane continued off the right side of the runway and collided with an embankment. According to the pilot, he experienced gusting winds during the landing.
Factual narrative
On July 5, 1997, at 1500 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-12, N7799H, veered off the right side of runway 23 during an attempted takeoff, and collided with an embankment at a private airstrip in Swansboro, North Carolina. The banner tow flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The rated pilot was not injured. The local flight departed Swansboro, North Carolina, at approximately 0900.
The pilot reported that they had a busy morning and afternoon of banner activity. On this leg of the operation, he dropped the banner as normal, and returned to the airstrip for a normal landing. The airplane touched down at the mid-field point of the 2400 foot long sod strip. After rolling several hundred feet, the airplane started drifting right of the centerline. As the airplane neared the edge of the runway, the pilot advanced the throttle and attempted a takeoff. The airplane continued off the right side of runway 23 and collided with an embankment. According to the pilot, he experienced gusting winds during the attempted landing.
During the examination of the airframe, corrosion was found on the right landing gear strut. A review of the aircraft records also showed previous corrosion on the left landing gear strut. The landing assembly remained intact throughout the landing roll on the runway. The left main landing gear was torn from the airframe after the airplane departed the runway surface. The examination of the brake system failed to disclose a mechanical malfunction or component failure. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7799H
- Reported as
- Piper PA-12
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- PA-12-696
- Airframe hours
- 3,000
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Peacock Aero Services
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 31, 1996 · 300 hours before
- Departed
- 4NC5
- Airport
- 4NC5 · Private, runway 5, 2,700 × 66 ft, grass/turf
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
- 25
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,600 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 11 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- NKT, 36 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.