Accident Narrative
On November 14, 2022, at approximately 1134 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-18-150, registration N9858P, sustained substantial damage during an accident near St. Augustine, Florida. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an aerial observation mission.
The purpose of the flight was to map coastal erosion resulting from a recent hurricane. The pilot departed Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB) at 0910, bound for Northeast Florida Regional Airport (SGJ) in St. Augustine. Before departure, he performed a preflight inspection that included checks of flight controls, oil level, fuel level, and fuel quality via sampling of the tanks and gascolator. The fuel tanks had been filled to capacity the previous day as per normal procedures.
After takeoff, the pilot flew north along the coastline, conducting mapping from Palm Coast to St. Augustine. He maintained communication with the SGJ air traffic control tower for traffic advisories while flying a north-south grid pattern and entering and exiting the surrounding airspace.
Around 1130, the engine sputtered for 30 to 60 seconds twice, then sputtered a third time before losing all power. The pilot configured the airplane for gliding, assessing the area between the St. Augustine inlet to the north and the St. Augustine beach pier to the south. He opted to land northward, into the headwind, where fewer beachgoers were observed. He initiated his troubleshooting and shutdown checklists while spiraling downward over the beach.
During the final spiral, while heading south, the airplane descended more rapidly than anticipated. The pilot immediately leveled the wings and lowered the nose further to maintain glide to the south. On short final, he noticed people on the beach and chose to land in the shore break to avoid them. During the landing roll, the main landing gear dug into the sand, causing the airplane to nose over and come to rest inverted. The pilot unbuckled his seatbelt and exited the aircraft.
After the accident, bystanders approached and reported smelling fuel leaking from the wings. The pilot also detected the odor of avgas. During wreckage recovery, both left and right fuel tank caps were found missing. Approximately two weeks later, a person using a metal detector located the missing fuel caps buried in the sand near the accident site.
Postaccident Examination
Examination of the wreckage revealed substantial damage to the engine mounts, vertical stabilizer, and rudder. The engine was inspected after recovery: thumb compression was achieved on all four cylinders when the crankshaft was manually rotated. All exhaust and intake valves functioned, and top spark plug electrodes exhibited a normal gray color. Borescope inspection of the cylinders revealed no anomalies. Both magnetos generated spark at all towers, oil was present in rocker boxes and galleries, and drivetrain continuity was confirmed from the propeller flange to the rear accessory gears.
Fuel system inspection found only trace amounts of fuel. Water-finding paste testing showed no water presence. The gascolator contained a small amount of debris in the bottom of the bowl (external to the screen). The carburetor float bowl was clean and empty of fuel; the float valve and accelerator pump were operational, and the floats showed no signs of leakage. No evidence of pull-out or impact damage was observed on the filler necks or fuel cap locking slots.
Weather Information
At 1643, weather recorded at SGJ (about 7 nautical miles northwest of the accident site) included a temperature of 21°C and a dew point of 19°C, yielding a relative humidity of 88%. Review of the icing probability chart from FAA Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin CE-09-35 indicated that these atmospheric conditions were "conducive to serious icing at glide [idle] power."