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| Date: | Monday 31 July 2023 |
| Time: | 11:30 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser |
| Owner/operator: | Barnstormers Aerial Advertising LLC |
| Registration: | N3036M |
| MSN: | 12-1581 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1947 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 18807 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Myrtle Beach, SC -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Banner and glider towing |
| Departure airport: | Myrtle Beach-Grand Strand Airport, SC (CRE/KCRE) |
| Myrtle Beach-Grand Strand Airport, SC (CRE/KCRE) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On July 31, 2023, at 1130 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-12 airplane, N3036M, was substantially damage when it was involved in an accident near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The commercial pilot sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 banner tow flight.
The pilot said he refueled the airplane the day before the accident and checked the fuel level during his preflight inspection the following morning. As he was conducting his second banner-tow of the day over the coastline, about 2 hours 30 minutes into the flight the engine suddenly stopped producing power. The pilot made a forced landing in the ocean just offshore of the beach, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage.
Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that while the crankshaft would not rotate more than 180 degrees, this was likely due to corrosion that was the result of exposure to saltwater during the forced landing. Internal inspection of the engine via a borescope revealed no obvious mechanical deficiencies or malfunctions that would have precluded the engine from operating at the time of the accident. Although the pilot reported departing with 33 usable gallons of fuel, the postaccident examination found no evidence of fuel leaks and both fuel tanks were intact and empty of fuel. As such, the engine most likely lost power due to fuel exhaustion.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s inadequate fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.wbtw.com/news/grand-strand/myrtle-beach/banner-plane-crashes-into-ocean-in-myrtle-beach-pilot-getting-treatment-police-say/amp/
https://abc11.com/plane-crash-beach-banner-airplane-myrtle/13578121/
https://wpde.com/news/local/plane-crash-myrtle-beach-pilot-emergency-personnel-40th-avenue-north-access-beachgoers-atlantic-ocean-police-department-july-31-2023
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=192976
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N3036M
https://www.flickr.com/photos/planesandstuff/24364667992/in/photolist-D82hWC-pDPyHe-pDRV1o/lightbox/ (photo in old c/s)
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 26 July 1995 | N3036M | Barnstormer Flite Signs, Inc. | 0 | N. Myrtle Beach, SC | |
sub |
| 29 April 2009 | N3036M | Barnstormers Flite Signs | 0 | Georgetown, South Carolina | |
sub |
Location
Media:
Plane crash in Myrtle Beach #MyrtleBeach pic.twitter.com/AbShDmEjZh
— jeremy (@Hil1Bil1y) July 31, 2023
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 31-Jul-2023 18:38 | hmmptwizzle | Added |
| 31-Jul-2023 18:39 | harro | Updated |
| 01-Aug-2023 06:05 | RobertMB | Updated |
| 02-Aug-2023 15:56 | Captain Adam | Updated |
| 06-Feb-2025 16:46 | Captain Adam | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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