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| Date: | Saturday 16 July 2022 |
| Time: | 09:35 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser |
| Owner/operator: | Paramount Air Service Inc |
| Registration: | N3703M |
| MSN: | 12-2648 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 15117 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-320 A2B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Paramount Air Airport, NJ (JY04) -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Banner and glider towing |
| Departure airport: | Paramount Air Airport, NJ (JY04) |
| Paramount Air Airport, NJ (JY04) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On July 16, 2022, about 0935 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-12, N3703M, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Middle Township, New Jersey. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 banner-tow flight.
The banner tow pilot had worked for the operator for about 2 months, and the accident flight was the first flight of the day. The pilot departed from the runway and flew a left traffic pattern to pick up the banner at the approach end of the opposite runway, which was normal procedure. Witnesses stated that the airplane descended between the poles, missed the banner, and the pilot initiated an aggressive, almost vertical climb. One witness stated that it appeared as though the accident pilot "kicked rudder" at the top of the climb to see if he had picked up the banner. The airplane entered an aerodynamic stall/spin and descended to ground contact. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Based on the available information, it is likely that the pilot exceeded the airplane's critical angle of attack during the banner pickup attempt, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin and loss of control at an altitude too low to recover.
Probable Cause: The pilot's exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during a missed banner pickup, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin and loss of control at an altitude too low to recover.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB ERA22FA315
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105485
FAA register: https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=3703M
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 24 June 2018 | N3703M | Paramount Air Services | 0 | Cape May County, NJ | |
min |
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Media:
NTSB investigating today\'s crash of a Piper PA-12 airplane near Cape May, New Jersey.
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) July 16, 2022
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 16-Jul-2022 18:27 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 16-Jul-2022 21:34 | Captain Adam | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Nature, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 16-Jul-2022 21:55 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Nature, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 18-Jul-2022 16:55 | RobertMB | Updated [Registration, Cn, Operator, Phase, Nature, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 19-Jul-2022 06:31 | AgOps | Updated [Registration, Cn, Operator, Phase, Nature, Source, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 26-Jul-2022 21:56 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 16-Nov-2023 15:27 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category, Accident report, ] |
| 16-Nov-2023 17:33 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Photo, ] |
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