- Date
- August 11, 2025, 13:59 local (17:59 UTC)
- Place
- Ponce Inlet, FL · Sandbar in Halifax River
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2504MPiper PA-12
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class
- Class 3
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20250811012259A
- Case key
- 200775
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Preliminary report
What NTSB knew early in the investigation. It may change in the final report.
On August 11, 2024, about 1359 easter daylight time, a Piper PA-12, N2504M, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Ponce Inlet, Florida. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 banner tow flight. The pilot reported that during the second flight of the day, the airplane departed with 17 gallons of fuel. About 1 hour after departure at about 500 ft mean seal level, the airplane experienced a momentary surge in engine power. The engine anomaly repeated several times before the engine lost power completely. Unable to restore engine power, the pilot released the banner and performed a forced landing to an exposed sandbar. During the landing roll, the airplane overran the sandbar, nosed over in the water. The rudder struck the river bottom, substantially damaging it. The airplane came to rest inverted in about 2 ft of saltwater about 2 miles northeast of New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport (EVB), New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The wreckage was retained for further examination.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2504M
- Reported as
- Piper PA-12
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 12-1002
- Built
- 1946
- Airframe hours
- 6,341.2
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Banner tow · Part 91
- Operator
- Aerial Messages Leasing Co
- Registered owner
- Aerial Messages Leasing Co
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 2, 2025 · 79.6 hours before
- Departed
- X50 · New Smyrna beach, FL
- Airport
- EVB · New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Electronic flight bag or handheld device
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.
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 81 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- EVB, 2 nm away
- METAR
- KEVB 111747Z 11010KT 10SM SCT035 32/27 A3007
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.