- Date
- July 23, 1988, 14:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Pendleton, NY
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N53784Bellanca 7GCAA
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 25, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880723027709A
- Case key
- 36190
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 control of the aircraft after the pilot had hooked the banner.
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 of the Bellanca had just started his approach to pick up a banner, when the engine was heard to be running rough. He continued with the banner pickup. A witness reported that when power was applied, the engine ran extremely rough and emitted black smoke. Ground personnel instructed the pilot to release the banner. The witness said that the pilot released the banner and started a shallow turn to the right. The aircraft then dropped out of sight behind a line of trees and impacted the ground. There was evidence the aircraft had crashed in a steep nose down attitude. An exam of the aircraft revealed there was plenty of fuel on board. An operational check of the engine was made after several damaged components were replaced; it started and ran normally up to about 1300 to 1400 RPM. Due to a bent crankshaft flange, the engine was not checked at a higher RPM.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N53784
- Reported as
- Bellanca 7GCAA
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 320-75
- Airframe hours
- 2,559
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Aero Banner, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 6, 1988
- Airport
- 77NY · Pendleton Airpark, runway 9, 3,800 × 75 ft, grass/turf
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
- 49
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 2,930 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.