Accident Details
On March 19, 2011, at approximately 1515 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-18A "150" (registration N9692D) sustained substantial damage during a hard forced landing at North Perry Airport in Hollywood, Florida. The aircraft was operated by Van Wagner Aerial Media LLC under 14 CFR Part 91 for a banner tow flight. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight had departed from North Perry Airport about 1 hour and 20 minutes prior to the accident.
Flight History
According to the pilot, after departure he towed a banner for the prescribed duration and then returned to North Perry Airport to drop the first banner and pick up a second. About 1 mile from the airport, he moved the fuel selector to the left tank and set the mixture to full rich. After releasing the first banner, he remained in the banner traffic pattern and deployed a hook for the second banner. While turning base and final, he descended to catch the banner tow rope. He slowly added full power and rotated to climb, but the engine, which had initially powered up, "completely shut off" without sputtering. At that time, the aircraft was between 50 and 100 feet above ground level. The pilot immediately applied forward elevator control and confirmed the mixture was full rich and the fuel selector on the left tank. Prior to touchdown, he applied aft elevator control but it did not respond, resulting in a hard landing.
Post-Accident Actions
Personnel from the operator arrived promptly and secured the aircraft. They moved the fuel selector from left to off, both magneto switches from on to off, the battery from on to off, the throttle from full forward to idle, the mixture from slightly leaned to idle cut-off, and extended the carburetor heat from approximately 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch. When the fuel selector was in the off position, only drips of fuel were noted from the fuel strainer. Subsequently, the fuel selector was placed in left and right positions, and fuel flowed normally.
Aircraft Damage and Examination
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector reported that the aircraft impacted the ground west of runway 18R, slid 23 feet, nosed up striking the propeller, and came to rest upright. Both wings and fuselage sustained substantial damage. An adequate quantity of fuel was found in the left and two right fuel tanks. No fuel leakage was observed at the accident site, but during recovery, fuel leakage occurred from the right fuel vent.
After recovery, with FAA oversight, fuel was noted in the carburetor bowl. Throttle control cable continuity was confirmed from the cockpit to the carburetor. A replacement propeller was installed, and the engine was started and operated to 1,500 rpm. During the engine run, the fuel selector was moved to left and right positions with no discrepancies noted.
Weather Conditions
A surface observation weather report taken at the accident airport at 1453 (about 22 minutes before the accident) indicated a temperature of 26°C and a dew point of 14°C. According to FAA Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin CE-09-35, dated June 30, 2009, these conditions were favorable for serious icing at glide power.