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| Date: | Thursday 4 July 2024 |
| Time: | 16:00 |
| Type: |  Bellanca 8GCBC Scout |
| Owner/operator: | Ocean Aerial Ads Inc |
| Registration: | N749SK |
| MSN: | 127-75 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1974 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Frankford, DE -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Banner and glider towing |
| Departure airport: | Bunting's Field Airport, MD (4MD1) |
| Bunting's Field Airport, MD (4MD1) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On July 4, 2024, at 1600 eastern daylight time, a Bellanca 8GCBC, N749SK was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Frankford, Delaware. The commercial pilot sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 banner towing flight.
The pilot was flying at 300 ft mean sea level (msl) while towing a banner when he noticed the engine oil temperature began to increase. The pilot informed the operator and climbed to 1,200 ft msl; however, the airplane would not maintain altitude and was slowly descending. The engine rpm began to decrease and the engine increasingly began to run rough. The pilot dropped the banner as the airplane descended through 700 ft msl, and he initiated a forced landing in a field that was bordered by trees. Unable to reach the field, the airplane impacted the top of trees. The airplane then descended to the ground, resulting in substantial airframe and wing damage.
Postaccident examination of the engine revealed damage to the No. 3 cylinder that was consistent with detonation in the form of erosion on the edge of the intake valve and valve seat insert, and a cracked lower spark plug that was likely the cause of the detonation. A review of the most recent annual inspection maintenance logs revealed that the No. 3 cylinder assembly was replaced with a new cylinder 45 days before the accident.
Probable Cause: A partial loss of engine power resulting from cylinder detonation and a cracked spark plug, which resulted in a forced landing and impact with terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.wrde.com/news/pilot-injured-in-frankford-plane-crash/article_3091a6f2-3a6a-11ef-8753-f3a940e53e50.html
https://www.wgmd.com/breaking-banner-plane-goes-down-near-roxana/
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194658
https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult
https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/N749SK
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 05-Jul-2024 02:01 | Geno | Added |
| 29-Oct-2024 19:18 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report, ] |
| 07-Apr-2025 02:43 | Captain Adam | Updated [Phase, Source, Narrative, Photo, ] |
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