Accident Overview
On May 1, 2013, at approximately 1030 central daylight time, a Cessna 172M airplane, registration N8899V, descended and impacted terrain following a banner towing maneuver at St. Tammany Regional Airport (L31) near Covington, Louisiana. The pilot, the sole occupant, sustained minor injuries. The airplane sustained substantial fuselage damage. The aircraft was owned and operated by Northshore Group LLC under 14 CFR Part 91 as a banner towing flight. Day visual flight rules (VFR) conditions prevailed, and the flight did not operate on a VFR flight plan. The local flight originated from L31.
Pilot Account
The pilot reported that he had an accident on April 28, 2013, while flying a 170-horsepower Cessna 172N. An inspector from the Baton Rouge Flight Standards District Office scheduled an appointment with the operator and the pilot to review the banner towing operation and demonstrate a pickup using the same banner and equipment from the April 28 incident. Since the 170-horsepower airplane incurred substantial damage, the demonstration was to be performed in N8899V, a 150-horsepower Cessna 172M. The pilot noted that most of his training had been in the 170-horsepower airplane and that he had only towed one banner with N8899V.
During the preflight inspection, the pilot found no anomalies, including the stall horn. He flew a closed traffic pattern at L31 for the banner pickup on the east parallel. The pilot confirmed that he caught the pickup rope on the first pass. He stated that he "felt the tail weight down during my pull up" and began to nose the airplane over to maintain airspeed. The pilot reported that the airplane started a stall/spin to the left without any buffeting or stall horn sounding. He indicated that his window was open and he may not have heard the stall horn. The pilot attempted a recovery with "full forward elevator controls" and the airplane subsequently "landed pretty hard."
Post-Accident Inspection
The stall horn was checked after the accident and was found to be operational.
Weather Conditions
At 0953, the recorded weather at Slidell Airport, near Slidell, Louisiana, was: wind 140 degrees at 5 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; sky condition broken clouds at 1,600 feet, broken clouds at 2,300 feet, overcast clouds at 6,000 feet; temperature 24 degrees Celsius; dew point 21 degrees Celsius; altimeter 29.90 inches of mercury.