- Date
- August 5, 1993, 13:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Cape Canaveral, FL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7540Piper PA-18-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 26, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930805028099A
- Case key
- 33284
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
Loss of engine power for an undetermined reason.
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 stated he was towing an advertising banner southbound while just offshore from the beach. Suddenly the engine quit. The aircraft was ditched in the ocean near shore and nosed over during the ditching. Examination of the aircraft and engine after recovery from the ocean by FAA inspectors revealed no evidence to indicate precrash mechanical failure or malfunction of the engine and systems. Usable quantities of automotive fuel was found in both tanks of the aircraft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7540
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-5431
- Airframe hours
- 7,272
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Burfitt, Andrew
- Registered owner
- Burfitt, Andrew
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 23, 1993 · 35 hours before
- Departed
- COI · Cocoa Beach, FL
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,800 total · 250 in this make and model · 2,700 as pilot in command · 200 in the last 90 days · 70 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MLB, 20 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.