Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Brighton Beach, New York 11235
Sunday, July 4, 2004 16:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was towing a banner approximately 300 feet above the water. The engine began to run rough, vibrate, and there was a decrease in oil pressure. The pilot released the banner and attempted to divert to an airport. The pilot also attempted to correct the rough running engine. However, the engine continued to run rough, and the pilot was unable to maintain altitude. He subsequently ditched the airplane and exited before it sank. The airplane was recovered, but the engine was not located.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A partial loss of engine power during cruise flight for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/4/2004
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Brighton Beach
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 11235
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 403421N
Event Location Longitude 0735506W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1551 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 60
Weather Observation Facility ID JFK
Elevation of weather observation facility 13
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 5000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 160
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.01
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17217
NTSB Notification Source Eastern Region Ops Center
NTSB Notification Date Jul 4 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1625
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jan 27 2005 3:52PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Garden City, NY

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6550F
NTSB Number NYC04LA156
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 182Q
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18265953
Certified Max Gross Weight 2950
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jan 6 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 30
Airframe Hours 3389
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Aerial Sign Company Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 7501 Pembroke Rd.
Aircraft Owner City Hollywood
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 33023
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Other Work Use
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code N12
Departure City Lakewood
Departure State NJ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1440
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code FOK
Destination City Westhampton
Destination State NY
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record --
User who most recently changed record --
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --