- Date
- September 10, 2020, 14:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Destin, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7366ZPiper PA25
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Fuel starvation
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20200910013939A
- Case key
- 101969
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 manage the available fuel supply which resulted in fuel starvation and a total loss of engine power.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot was conducting a routine banner tow flight in an airplane equipped with a main fuel tank as well as an auxiliary fuel tank that transferred fuel to the main fuel tank via a manually activated fuel pump. The pilot was distracted due to the air traffic control and the volume of air traffic in the area, and stated that he did not activate the auxiliary fuel tank transfer pump at the turnaround point where he typically would have during other banner tow flights. After about 3 hours of flight time, the engine lost power. The pilot was unsuccessful in his attempts to restart the engine, which included activating the fuel transfer pump during the descent. He subsequently ditched the airplane into the Gulf of Mexico, during which both of the airplane’s wings were substantially damaged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7366Z
- Reported as
- Piper PA25 (235)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25-3320
- Built
- 1965
- Airframe hours
- 8,012.52
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-B2B5, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Banner tow · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 22, 2020
- Departed
- ECP · Panama City, FL
- Destination
- ECP · Panama City, FL
- Equipment
- Unknown
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
- 36
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 11, 2019
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 624.4 total · 273.7 in this make and model · 182.5 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.06 inHg
- Observed at
- DTS
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 22, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 19.2 MB in all.
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 N7366Z · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.