Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Albert Whitted Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
St. Petersburg, Florida 33701
Sunday, March 23, 2014 14:10 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
On March 23, 2014, about 1410 eastern daylight time, a Cessna O-1A, N211PP, operated by Advertising Airforce, was substantially damaged when it collided with water during a forced landing, following a loss of engine power after takeoff from Albert Whitted Airport (SPG), St. Petersburg, Florida. The commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the banner-tow flight, which was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
According to the operator, the pilot had completed a two-hour flight, and serviced the airplane with fuel, which "topped off" the tanks. He then completed a second banner tow flight, which was one hour in duration, before picking up a third banner. The pilot's first pick-up attempt was unsuccessful. He then circled the pick-up location for a brief period, and completed the pick-up on the second attempt. During the initial climb, about 300 feet, the engine experienced a total loss of power. The pilot released the banner and completed a forced landing to Tampa Bay. The pilot reported that the entire flight was conducted on the left main fuel tank.
The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane multiengine land, single engine land and instrument airplane. He also held a flight instructor certificate with a rating for airplane single engine. His most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) second class medical certificate was issued on May 31, 2013. He reported 3,070 total hours of flight experience, of which 2,863 hours were in single-engine airplanes.
According to FAA and maintenance records, the airplane was manufactured in 1951. Its most recent 100-hour inspection was completed February 27, 2013, at 10,140 aircraft hours.
The airplane was recovered from the water and examined by an FAA inspector March 24-25, 2014. Examination and then draining of the fuel tanks revealed that the right main and auxiliary tanks were full and contained "some" sea water. The left auxiliary tank was full and contained some sea water, and the 18-gallon left main tank was empty, dry, and contained no traces of fuel or water. The fuel selector was found in the right main tank position, and the fuel boost pump was in the off position.The engine was flushed with water and diesel fuel to preserve it, and slave magnetos were mounted. The airplane was serviced with fuel, a new battery was installed, and an engine start was attempted. The engine started immediately, and ran continuously without interruption.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/23/2014 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1410 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | St. Petersburg |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 33701 |
| Event Date Year | 2014 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 274537N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0823745W |
| Event Location Airport | Albert Whitted |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | SPG |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | -- |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 30 |
| Airport Elevation | 7 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 30 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SPG |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 7 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 1 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 2500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 1900 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| 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) | 19 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 260 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 12 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.02 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | KSPG 231753Z 26012KT 10SM SCT019 BKN025 OVC043 25/ |
| 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) | -- |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA SROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 7 2014 4:33PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N211PP |
| NTSB Number | ERA14LA167 |
| 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 | O1 - A |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 22956 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2400 |
| 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 | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 27 2014 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 10140 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Aerial Banners |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | St. Petersburg |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 33701 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | St. Pete Aerial Advertising |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | St. Petersburg |
| Operator State | FL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 33701 |
| 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) | Banner Tow |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | SPG |
| Departure City | St. Petersburg |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | SPG |
| Destination City | St. Petersburg |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 7 2014 4:34PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 18 |
| Runway Length | 2864 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |