- Date
- May 26, 1985, 12:26 local (16:26 UTC)
- Place
- St.Petersburg, FL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N1211APiper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850526020689A
- Case key
- 31405
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
The pilot was assigned an aircraft with a recently overhauled engine to tow a banner. He preflighted, started and ran-up the engine 3 times. Each time the engine ran rough and lost RPM on magneto checks. After each occurrence, companymaintenance personnel cleaned the sparkplugs and released the acft for flight. The pilot test flew the acft and stated that it performed normally. He then lowered the banner hook, dove down to engaged the banner and started to climb. The engine began to run rough and lost power. The pilot attempted to jettison the banner twice & could not. He then attempted to land on an intersecting runway and crashed. An exam of the eng revealed that the spark plugs were oil fouled/wet. The cylinders of the eng had just been installed & there was no record of an eng run-in.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1211A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-824
- Airframe hours
- 6,466
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Advertising Air Force
- Registered owner
- Thomas W. Merrifield
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 3, 1985 · 1 hours before
- Airport
- SPG · Albert Whitted, runway 18, 2,800 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 37
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 2,013 total · 762 in this make and model · 2,013 as pilot in command · 62 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SPG
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.