What happened
The pilot was performing a low pass over a banner staging area intended to drop a banner. During this maneuver, the cockpit release mechanism failed to function, causing the banner to remain in tow behind the aircraft.
Strong crosswind conditions blew the trailing banner into another banner that was sitting on the ground awaiting pickup. The airborne banner became entangled with the ground-based banner, which subsequently pulled the ground banner aloft.
Following the entanglement, the pilot attempted to land the aircraft. While at approximately 20 feet above ground level, the pilot reduced power in an attempt to save the engine. This action caused the airplane to lose lift and drop to the ground. The impact resulted in the collapse of the main landing gear.
The investigation
An inspection of the aircraft conducted by an FAA inspector determined that the banner release cable had separated at a nicopress splice. It was discovered that the operator had previously spliced additional cable to the existing line to increase its length for installation in this specific aircraft.