Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 29526
Saturday, May 31, 2008 11:15 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot departed on a banner tow mission to the shoreline approximately 15 miles away. Approximately 6 miles prior to the shoreline, he noted a slight loss of altitude and added power to climb. He then noticed an increase in oil temperature and a decrease in oil pressure. He initially attempted to return to the departure airport, but could not maintain altitude. The pilot set up for a precautionary landing, but was unsuccessful when the engine lost power completely. The airplane struck trees while still airborne and came to rest in an open area. The Number 4 piston exhibited evidence of sustained exposure to abnormally high operating temperatures and detonation. A portion of the piston was thermally eroded from the head to below the oil scraper ring and the sidewall was penetrated in the eroded area. The operator monitored fleet fuel consumption very closely and encouraged the pilots to regularly lean the fuel mixtures. The engine had accumulated 3,200 hours since major overhaul, which was 1,200 hours beyond the manufacturer's recommended time of 2,000 hours.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A loss of engine power due to thermally-induced failure of a piston. Contributing to the accident was the sustained engine exposure to abnormally high operating temperatures and detonation, and the exceedance of the engine manufacturer's recommended overhaul interval by approximately 1,200 hours.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/31/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1115 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Myrtle Beach |
| Event State | SOUTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 29526 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 334810N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0784326W |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1145 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 100 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MYR |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 32 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 6 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 7 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 29 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 20 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 230 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 11 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 25378 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Columbia FSDO |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 2 2008 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 1 2009 10:21AM |
| User who most recently changed record | muzd |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Columbia FAA/FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N802DA |
| NTSB Number | NYC08LA201 |
| 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 | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA-18-135 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 18-3353 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2070 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Sky Signs, LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 6920 Highway 701 S |
| Aircraft Owner City | Conway |
| Aircraft Owner State | SC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 29527 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | SC Sky Signs LLC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Conway |
| Operator State | SC |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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) | Banner Tow |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | NONE |
| Departure City | Conway |
| Departure State | SC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1058 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | NONE |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency descent/landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 1 2009 10:22AM |
| User who most recently changed record | muzd |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |