ERA22FA243

The pilot of the banner tow airplane made a low approach to pick up a banner. Witnesses reported that after the tow rope was picked up, the airplane pitched up and maintained a steep angle of attack until it entered an aerodynamic stall and made a near vertical descent to impact. The airplane came to rest in a nose-down, near-vertical position about 300 ft from the banner pick up zone. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Toxicology testing detected a low level of ethanol in the pilot’s liver tissue. Some or all of the small amount of detected ethanol may have been from postmortem production. It is unlikely that ethanol effects contributed to the accident. It is likely that after the banner pickup and during initial climb, while the airplane had a high-power setting, high pitch angle, and low airspeed, the pilot exceeded the airplane’s critical angle of attack, and the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall from which recovery was not possible due to the airplane's low altitude.

On May 28, 2022, at 1414 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-12, N4421M, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 banner tow flight. Witnesses standing on the flight line at Grand Strand Airport (CRE), North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, stated that the airplane approached to pick up a banner, picked up the tow rope, pitched up, and maintained a steep angle of attack until the airplane “stalled.” The left wing dropped, and the airplane made a near-vertical descent and impacted the ground about 300 ft from the banner pick up zone. One witness reported that the airplane entered a spin prior to impact. The owner of the banner tow company stated that the pilot was a long-term employee and most of his 15,200 hours of flying were in the accident airplane or another Piper PA-12. The accident site was located 126 ft to the right side of runway 23 and about midfield. The fuselage came to rest in a nose down, near vertical position. Both wings exhibited accordion-style crushing. Both fuel tanks were breached. Flight control continuity was established from all flight control surfaces to the flight controls. The instrument panel was located under the engine, and all instruments were impact-damaged. The engine was disassembled, and it was noted that there were no accessory drive splines installed in the engine accessory case, nor were they required to be; therefore, the engine crankshaft could not be rotated by hand. The right-side cylinders, Nos. 1 and 3, were removed to provide visual access to the internal engine components. Continuity of the crankshaft, camshaft, and valvetrain was confirmed by visual observation. The interiors of all four cylinders were examined with no anomalies noted. The magnetos were removed and sparked on all towers. Oil was present in the engine; the oil suction screen was examined, and no debris was noted. The propeller separated at the crankshaft and was buried about 2 ft in the ground. One propeller blade exhibited chordwise paint abrasion, “S” bending, and longitudinal twisting toward the blade face. The other propeller blade exhibited chordwise paint abrasion. Toxicological testing by the Federal Aviation Administration Forensic Sciences Laboratory identified ethanol at 0.016 g/dL in the pilot’s liver tissue. Ethanol was not detected in the pilot’s vitreous fluid or brain tissue.