Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Grand Strand Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 29582
Wednesday, July 18, 2012 10:45 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was towing a banner near the shoreline at an altitude of about 500 feet when the engine began to lose power. He applied carburetor heat; however, the engine continued to lose power and then stopped completely. The pilot was not able to restart the engine and performed a forced landing to the water. He exited the airplane before it sank to a depth of about 30 feet. Postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation; however, the engine exhibited significant damage consistent with saltwater corrosion, which precluded a check of the fuel and ignition systems. The airplane had been operated for about 50 hours since its most recent 100 hour inspection, which was performed about 9 days before the accident, and the engine had been operated for about 150 hours since it was overhauled about 1 month before the accident. The weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to carburetor icing at glide power and cruise power.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A total loss of engine power due to carburetor icing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/18/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1045 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | North Myrtle Beach |
| Event State | SOUTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 29582 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 334842N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0784120W |
| Event Location Airport | Grand Strand |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | CRE |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 4 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 31 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1053 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 200 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | CRE |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 32 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 3 |
| 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) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 30 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 23 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 200 |
| 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) | 30.04 |
| 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) | 31243 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA South ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 14 2013 2:00PM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2991Z |
| NTSB Number | ERA12LA468 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA-18-150 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 18-7109 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1750 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 28 2012 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 150 |
| Airframe Hours | 13075 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Barnstormer Elite Signs Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | PO BOX 1728 |
| Aircraft Owner City | NORTH MYRTLE BEACH |
| Aircraft Owner State | SC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 29598-1728 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Barnstormer Elite Signs Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | PO BOX 1728 |
| Operator City | NORTH MYRTLE BEACH |
| Operator State | SC |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 29598-1728 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | CRE |
| Departure City | North Myrtle Beach |
| Departure State | SC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 900 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | CRE |
| Destination City | North Myrtle Beach |
| Destination State | SC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 26 2013 1:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |