ERA12LA482

The pilot was returning to land after an uneventful banner-towing flight. He dropped the banner, added full engine power, climbed to traffic pattern altitude, and maneuvered to enter the downwind leg of the traffic pattern. During the climb, the engine sputtered and then lost total power. The pilot was not able to restart the engine and performed a forced landing into trees. Postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. Both fuel tanks were intact; the right fuel tank was found empty and the left fuel tank contained about 1.75 gallons of fuel. The airplane had been operated for more than 4 1/2 hours since its last refueling. It is likely that the airplane's low fuel state, combined with the maneuvering associated with the banner drop and the airplane’s subsequent pitch-up and airport traffic pattern operations resulted in an interruption of fuel flow to the engine.

On July 26, 2012, about 1615 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-12, N4361M, operated by Paramount Air Service Inc., was substantially damaged when it impacted trees after experiencing a total loss of engine power while maneuvering near Green Creek, New Jersey. The commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the flight that departed the Paramount Airport (JY04) about 1145. The local banner tow flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The pilot reported that he had topped off the airplane's fuel tanks (38 gallons total capacity) earlier in the day. He started the engine about 1135, and departed on a banner towing flight about 1145. The flight had been uneventful, and he was returning to land at JY04 after flying for about 4.5 hours. He dropped the banner, added full engine power, climbed to traffic pattern altitude, and maneuvered to enter the downwind leg of the traffic pattern. During the climb, the engine momentarily sputtered and then lost all power shortly thereafter. The pilot checked both fuel selectors, magnetos, and applied carburetor heat with no effect. He was not able to restart the engine and performed a forced landing to trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left side of the nose section, wing leading edges, and a buckled firewall. Postaccident examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. Both the left (main) and right (auxiliary) fuel tanks were intact. The right fuel tank was empty and the left fuel tank contained about 1.75 gallons of fuel. The airplane was manufactured in 1947, with a Lycoming O-235C, 100-horsepower engine, and was equipped with a Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150-horsepower engine at the time of the accident. Fuel was supplied to the engine via a gravity feed fuel system through the left, or both the left and the right fuel tanks. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was performed on May 17, 2012, and the airplane had been operated for about 200 hours since. In addition, at the time of the inspection, the engine had been operated for about 750 hours since it was overhauled.