Incident Details
A pilot reported that during a low pass over a banner staging area intended to drop a towed banner, the cockpit release mechanism failed to operate, and the banner remained attached. Crosswind conditions caused the still-towed banner to drift into another banner awaiting pickup on the ground. The two banners became entangled, and the ground banner was pulled into the air.
Sequence of Events
After the entanglement, the pilot stated that he attempted to land the airplane. As the aircraft descended to approximately 20 feet above ground level (AGL), the pilot pulled the throttle to idle in an effort to "save (the) engine." The pilot reported that the airplane immediately "quit flying" and dropped to the ground. The main landing gear collapsed upon impact with the runway.
Post-Crash Examination
An FAA inspector conducted a post-crash examination of the airplane. The inspection revealed that the banner release cable had separated at a Nicopress splice. According to the operator, additional cable had been spliced into the original release cable to lengthen it during installation in this airplane.